Ripple effect: BioWare fans have repeatedly feared for the studio's future ever since EA acquired the company nearly 20 years ago, and those fears intensified after last year's announcement of a Saudi-led leveraged buyout. Although BioWare hadn't released a hit title in 12 years, its early successes helped define the RPG genre, and fans likely still held high hopes for the next Mass Effect entry.
In a letter to staff on Wednesday, EA announced the closure of BioWare's Edmonton studio, its last, as part of broader cost-cutting layoffs. The storied RPG developer had begun early development on the next Mass Effect, informally known as Mass Effect 5, which has now been canceled.
EA eliminated around 400 positions this week, including a skeleton crew of 50 at BioWare. BioWare had already suffered severe layoffs last year after multiple releases that missed sales projections over the past decade.
– BioWare (@bioware) October 21, 2026
The closure was one of the most feared outcomes of EA's recent $55 billion leveraged buyout by the Saudi-led Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. Affinity Partners was founded by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law. The deal saddled EA with roughly $20 billion in debt.
BioWare was founded in Edmonton, Canada, in 1995 by Drs. Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka, and Augustine Yip. Its first release was Shattered Steel, and over the next decade the company helped define RPGs with games like Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire. TechSpot previously listed BioWare among its 10 favorite game developers of all time.
– Wesley ✨ (@wesleytypes) October 21, 2026
EA acquired BioWare in 2007, around the time it released the first entry in the still-beloved Mass Effect series. The studio's other successful modern franchise, Dragon Age, launched in 2009.
After the original Mass Effect trilogy and the first two Dragon Age games, BioWare's following projects faced multiple challenges. Creative pivots, often mandated by EA, a lack of resources, and trouble with EA's Frostbite game engine pushed Dragon Age: Inquisition, Anthem, and Mass Effect: Andromeda into development hell.
While critics heaped Inquisition with praise and several outlets named it 2014's Game of the Year, it proved to be BioWare's final success. Technical debt from that project contributed to Andromeda's disastrous launch.
Anthem arguably fared worse, and BioWare stopped supporting the live-service title two years after its 2019 launch. While the studio's last title, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, fared somewhat better, its development U-turned twice, and it ultimately missed EA's sales projections.
BioWare announced the next Mass Effect in 2020 with a brief teaser, and the project appeared only in a few short teasers afterward. The news of the studio's closure will likely revive memories of the fate of other EA-acquired studios like Westwood, Pandemic, Maxis, and Bullfrog.
As EA steps away from RPGs, it is predictably doubling down on first-person shooters and sports titles. The publisher confirmed plans to build on the success of Battlefield 6 and Apex Legends while Respawn and DICE collaborate on a new project, reportedly Star Wars: Battlefront 3.
Earlier this week, rumors claimed Disney was considering Halo, Destiny, and Marathon maker Bungie as an alternative for Battlefront 3, but it seems the franchise will, unsurprisingly, stay with DICE. EA also confirmed that Respawn is working on a third Star Wars Jedi game.
Additionally, the publisher teased a new social-focused open-world project from its American football team, the group behind Madden, and the return of its boxing simulator Fight Night. Meanwhile, EA will also prioritize an upcoming The Sims project, which isn't expected to be The Sims 5.
EA closes legendary RPG studio BioWare following its $55 billion buyout
