EA Closes BioWare, Cancels Mass Effect and Pauses a New Sims Game

EA confirmed on October 21 a sweeping round of cuts that reaches many of its best-known franchises. Bloomberg reported that about 400 people will lose their jobs. The heaviest blow lands on BioWare, the Canadian studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, which is closing after more than 30 years. Bloomberg put its headcount at fewer than 100 people, and the team had been developing the next Mass Effect. That game is now canceled.

Other studios were hit too. Staff at Ripple Effect (Battlefield), Maxis (The Sims) and Full Circle (Skate) were affected. The Sims team is dropping Project Lotus, a new entry codenamed for a game that was in development, and is focusing on Project Evergreen. Skate, released in 2025, stays online, but its studio is shrinking to a smaller team.

EA said its sports division continues to operate from a position of strength. It also confirmed two new projects there: an open-world football game codenamed Project Gridiron, and a new Fight Night, the first in 15 years. On the shooter side, EA called Battlefield 6 a success, and a joint project from Respawn and DICE is in the works. Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game remain on the slate.

The cuts were widely expected. The buyout by the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners was a $55 billion leveraged buyout, which loads the company with debt. Analysts had warned that cost cutting and workforce reductions would likely follow, and Circana's Mat Piscatella noted that companies taken private this way rarely fare well.