Electronic Arts closed BioWare last week because, under financial pressure, it chose to invest in a new Star Wars shooter rather than the next Mass Effect game. Bloomberg reports that the decision came when the opportunity arose to develop Star Wars Battlefront III, an ambitious multiplayer game backed by a licence seen as a safer bet.
The studio, behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, was shut down with around 400 layoffs across the group, according to X and sources cited by Bloomberg. Details on the individual impact remain limited.
Image: zlin.design — https://zlin.design/work/bioware
The backdrop is Electronic Arts' finances. After the $55 billion buyout led by Saudi Arabia's PIF, the company carries about $18 billion in debt. Against that background, EA had to choose which sci-fi project to back, and the Star Wars title won.
The contrast with Mass Effect is stark. The series has a devoted fan base, but the cancelled game had no release date. Battlefront III was presented as the safer bet precisely because it rests on a well-known brand. The news has drawn a strong reaction from players, with the #SaveMassEffect hashtag voicing regret among RPG fans, while some Battlefront supporters expressed solidarity.
Image: behance.net — https://www.behance.net/gallery/90193131/BioWare-(New)-Visual-Identity
The BioWare closure fits into a broader wave of cuts across the group reported in recent weeks. It shows how, for a major publisher, decisions about which franchises to back increasingly hinge on financial risk and licence value.
EA continues to work on other Star Wars projects, such as the third Jedi game from Respawn. The future of Mass Effect, meanwhile, remains uncertain, with no confirmed development path.
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