Electronic Arts confirmed that BioWare, the legendary studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, is shutting down. The company also ended early development on the next Mass Effect project, according to an announcement sent to staff. Bloomberg reports that EA is laying off around 400 employees, including about 50 at BioWare.
The changes follow EA being taken private by an investor group led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners in a $55 billion deal that closed in August. Other major gaming companies have also made sweeping cuts this year, including Xbox's "reset" with 3,200 cuts, Bungie's "significant" layoffs, and Epic Games laying off over 1,000 staff.
BioWare's recent track record has been weak. Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017 was widely seen as a misstep, Anthem's live-service bet in 2019 did not pan out, and EA laid off BioWare staff in 2025 after Dragon Age: The Veilguard missed sales expectations. The fate of Amazon's Mass Effect TV series is unclear, and an EA spokesperson had nothing to share on it.
In its broader roadmap, EA said Respawn and DICE will collaborate on "a future project," likely a new Star Wars: Battlefront game. Work continues on Marvel's Iron Man and a new Star Wars Jedi title, while a new football game called "Project Gridiron" and a Fight Night boxing title are in development.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing