EA Reportedly Picked Star Wars Over Mass Effect, Sealing BioWare's Fate

EA reportedly chose to fund an unannounced Star Wars shooter over a new Mass Effect, and that decision sealed the fate of BioWare. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, the publisher had room for only one of two expensive projects and picked the one that looked less risky. Star Wars: Battlefront 3 has not entered development and has not been officially announced, yet executives reportedly saw it as a more predictable bet than an RPG, a genre EA has never been as comfortable with as shooters.

Money drove much of the calculation. Since EA's sale to a consortium that includes Saudi Arabia's investment fund, the company has been carrying about $18 billion in leveraged debt, and a franchise shooter reportedly made more financial sense under that pressure.

Internal politics may have played a part as well. Schreier reports that Laura Miele, a senior executive and one of BioWare's key advocates, was sidelined when EA Sports veterans David Tinson and Cam Weber were promoted. BioWare's recent record also weakened its case, with Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard each falling short of sales expectations.

Since the closure, more Mass Effect material has surfaced. A trailer for Mass Effect: Universe appeared online last week and reportedly pitches the game as a sci-fi take on John Wick. Composer Austin Wintory also shared an experimental score he wrote for his audition tape for the project.