BioWare is closing after 30 years, and the next Mass Effect is going with it

BioWare is closing after more than three decades, and early development on the next Mass Effect has ended. The studio announced it in a statement on social media, describing itself as "more than a studio" and a home for storytellers.

The list of what it built is the argument for why this matters: Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Anthem.

There is nothing easy about writing those words. Our focus right now is on our incredibly talented team who put their hearts into these games, and supporting one another through this transition.

What EA is doing

Bloomberg reports EA will cut roughly 400 jobs, about 3% of its staff, with around 50 of those at BioWare. In a staff letter, EA chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber said the company had "taken a hard look at our business" and would cut some projects — including the next Mass Effect, which was in early development at BioWare.

The closure lands less than three months after EA completed its acquisition by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners on 4 August. BioWare's most recent game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, missed sales expectations, which Bloomberg says led EA to gut the studio last year.

What survives

Per the staff letter, EA continues with Apex Legends, Battlefield, the next Star Wars Jedi game and a new Iron Man game. It will keep developing skate but downsize the team, and it is cancelling a planned Sims title code-named Project Lotus.

Why we're writing it up

This is a link directory for browser ports and recompilations — the same instinct that makes someone type "play Baldur's Gate in a browser" is what makes preservation matter. When a studio closes, what it leaves behind is the games plus whatever the community can keep running. That's not a eulogy, it's the whole reason this site exists.