EA Plans to Shut Down BioWare and Cancels the Next Mass Effect

Electronic Arts is planning to shut down BioWare, the Canadian studio behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect, according to a new Bloomberg report. About 50 BioWare employees are being laid off, and roughly 350 more are being cut elsewhere in the company. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg the round affects about 3% of EA's overall workforce.

The cuts follow a staff letter sent Wednesday by chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber, which Bloomberg reviewed. They said EA took a "hard look" at its business over recent months, and that decision led to cancelling several projects. The next Mass Effect game, which was in early development at BioWare, is among them, as is a planned Sims title codenamed Project Lotus. Resources meant for Lotus are being redirected to a project called Project Evergreen.

Other titles are staying on track. The Skate team at Full Circle will be smaller but keep working on the game, and sports games, Apex Legends, Battlefield, the next Star Wars Jedi game and an Iron Man title remain funded.

The move comes a year after EA agreed to a $55 billion buyout led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and two months after the company went private. EA had told investors in March that it expected to save about $700 million, and the leveraged deal left it with heavy debt. BioWare had already struggled, with Anthem in 2019 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024 falling short of expectations.