BioWare confirmed the closure of the studio, founded in 1995, after 31 years of operation, and about 50 of the roughly 400 cuts sit at the studio.
Bloomberg reports about 400 jobs, roughly 3% of EA's staff, are being cut, including around 50 at BioWare.
The next Mass Effect, in early development at BioWare, has been cancelled and will not be passed to another studio, EA said.
EA went private in August 2026 in a $55 billion buyout that put about $18 billion of debt on its books, and earlier planned to save up to $700 million.
Electronic Arts will shut down BioWare and cut about 400 jobs, roughly 3% of its workforce, according to Bloomberg, which reported the plan on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, citing a person familiar with the plans. BioWare confirmed the closure in a statement posted online, and EA's letter to staff confirmed it as well without giving any detail on job losses. About 50 of the affected roles sit at BioWare, whose headquarters in Edmonton, Canada, is also being closed along with the studio. BioWare, founded in 1995 and bought by EA in 2007, marked its farewell in a social media post that recalled titles such as Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. BioWare's statement put the decision this way:
“There is nothing easy about writing those words.”
In an internal letter published on EA's website, Cam Weber, president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, president and chief operating officer, said the company had reviewed its priorities over recent months. Going forward, EA intends to focus on fewer, larger projects at the same time. In the letter they described BioWare as follows:
“BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly.”
The reports describe the restructuring as an effort to cut spending and concentrate resources on the franchises and projects with the best growth prospects.
The next Mass Effect, which was in an early stage of development at BioWare, has been cancelled, and EA said it will not hand the project to another studio. Earlier this year EA told investors it aimed to save up to $700 million, partly by cutting research and development costs. The company went private in August 2026 in a $55 billion buyout backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and Bloomberg said the deal put about $18 billion of debt on EA's books. BioWare had already shrunk, according to the industry portal VGC, from more than 200 staff to fewer than 100 within two years, until early 2025, after some staff were moved to other EA teams. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released in 2024, fell short of sales expectations and was followed by sharp staff cuts in 2025.
EA says it will keep investing in its sports games under the EA Sports label, including the football title FC, along with the online shooter Apex Legends, Star Wars Jedi and the Battlefield and The Sims series. A new Iron Man game is also planned. Bloomberg says studios Respawn and DICE will collaborate on a new project that may be another Star Wars Battlefront title. A Sims project code-named Project Lotus has been cancelled, and the team on the skateboarding game skate will be reduced. The PIF already owns Savvy Games and has reportedly considered combining it with EA.
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BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, is closing after 31 years, and Electronic Arts is cutting about 3% of its staff. The next Mass Effect, in early development, has been cancelled.
AI text based on reports by vrtnws.be, forsal.pl, La Razón and other publishers. Published .