EA Is Shutting Down BioWare, the Studio Behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect, and the Next Mass Effect Is Cancelled

It is the end of an era for RPG fans. Electronic Arts is shutting down BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Baldur’s Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. As a direct result, the next Mass Effect game, which was still in early development, has been cancelled. The news broke on Wednesday, October 21, as part of a wider restructuring that will cost around 400 jobs across EA.

BioWare Confirms It Is Closing

BioWare addressed its fans directly in a farewell message on social media, looking back at more than 30 years of history and the games that defined it, from Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights to Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Anthem. The studio’s message left no room for doubt.

“BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending.”

BioWare

The team said its focus right now is on supporting the developers who put their hearts into these games through the transition, and closed by thanking players for being the most meaningful part of the studio’s story.

Around 400 Jobs Cut Across EA

According to Bloomberg, EA is cutting roughly 400 jobs, about 3% of its total workforce, with around 50 of those positions at BioWare. In a letter to staff, EA’s chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber explained that the company had taken a hard look at its business over the past several months and is now concentrating talent and investment where it sees the biggest opportunities for growth. According to Variety, the closure also means EA will shut down BioWare’s home office in Edmonton, Canada.

Mass Effect is not the only project hit. A planned game in The Sims franchise, codenamed Project Lotus, has also been cancelled, with its resources moving over to another project codenamed Project Evergreen. Full Circle will keep working on Skate, but with a smaller team. On the other side of the ledger, EA says it will keep investing in its sports games, Apex Legends, Battlefield, the next Star Wars Jedi game and its upcoming Iron Man title, while Variety also reports that Respawn and DICE will team up on Star Wars: Battlefront 3.

What Happens to Mass Effect and Dragon Age?

The next Mass Effect, first teased back in 2020, was being developed by a small team of BioWare veterans after the studio was restructured to focus on one game at a time. That project is now over. EA still owns both the Mass Effect and Dragon Age brands, but it has not said anything about their future beyond this cancellation. If either series ever returns, it will have to be made by a studio other than BioWare.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard from 2024 is now set to go down as BioWare’s final release.

That makes Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released in October 2024, the last game BioWare will ship. EA said in early 2025 that Veilguard fell short of its sales expectations, and it followed the mixed reception of Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017 and the live service misfire Anthem in 2019. For a studio whose Dragon Age: Inquisition won Game of the Year at The Game Awards in 2014, it is a painful final chapter.

The First Big Move Since EA Went Private

The cuts land roughly two months after EA’s $55 billion takeover by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund officially closed in August. The leveraged buyout reportedly left EA carrying around $18 billion in debt, and this restructuring is the first major studio shake up since the company went private. It also arrives just a day after EA Sports confirmed the return of Fight Night, a reminder of where the publisher’s priorities currently lie.

BioWare was founded in Edmonton in 1995 and acquired by EA in 2007. Over three decades it shaped what players expect from story driven RPGs, with companions, romances and choices that carried across entire trilogies. Its closure is one of the biggest losses the industry has seen in years, following other recent studio closures like Xbox shutting down Hellblade developer Ninja Theory. Our thoughts are with everyone at BioWare and across EA who is affected by today’s layoffs.

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Picture Source: Electronic Arts / BioWare