EA Shuts Down BioWare and Cuts About 3% of Its Workforce

Electronic Arts is closing BioWare for good and cutting about 3% of its workforce, the company announced on Wednesday. As Gizmodo reports, EA most recently listed around 14,500 employees, so the reductions would affect roughly 400 people, including about 50 who worked under the BioWare name.

BioWare said it is being shuttered "after more than three decades of shared adventures." The studio was behind Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, as well as Mass Effect. A new Mass Effect game, reportedly in early development, will not move forward.

EA executives Cam Weber, president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, president and COO, called BioWare "a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre" and said the decision was not taken lightly.

A shift toward proven revenue

EA says it is now focusing on the "next era of interactive entertainment." In practice, that means investing in its sports lines, including Madden, the FC soccer series and the recently revived College Football games. The company also plans to invest heavily in Apex Legends, which EA has previously said generated more than $3 billion from cosmetic items and similar in-game sales.

EA also pointed to Battlefield 6 as a recent success to build on. The game sells seasonal battle passes on top of a $70 base price.

Why it matters

The closure comes shortly after EA went private following a $55 billion buyout by private equity investors and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. Whether or not the company was public, it would likely favor reliable earners, but the move signals that story-driven, single-player role-playing games are no longer a priority at EA. For fans of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, the future of those franchises is now unclear, as no further plans were mentioned.