Electronic Arts has decided to close its studio BioWare as part of a cost-cutting package, according to Dagens Nyheter. The decision also means that development of the next instalment in the "Mass Effect" series is being abandoned.
The savings cover several game studios connected to EA, and a total of 400 jobs are to be removed, Dagens Nyheter reports.
Why it matters
BioWare is one of the most recognisable names in role-playing games, and its closure removes a studio with a long history from the industry in a single decision. The cancellation of a new "Mass Effect" title ends, for now, one of EA's best-known science-fiction franchises.
The cuts also arrive at a sensitive moment for EA. According to Dagens Nyheter, the company was recently taken off the stock exchange by a consortium that includes Saudi Arabia's state investment fund, and it is carrying large debts. The restructuring therefore lands on a publisher that is both privately held and financially stretched.
Letter to staff announced sweeping review
In a letter to employees that Bloomberg has seen, EA executives David Tinson and Cam Weber wrote that the company had "in recent months carried out a thorough review of the business" and had decided on a number of cutbacks, according to Dagens Nyheter. Closing BioWare is among them.
The studio itself confirmed the closure in a post on X, Dagens Nyheter reports.
The reporting does not specify which other studios are affected beyond BioWare, nor how the 400 job losses are distributed across them. It also does not give a timeline for the closures or say what will happen to staff at the studio.
A studio with a long track record
BioWare's name carries weight well beyond its own releases. Swedish outlets covering the news described it as a legendary game studio, a sign of how closely it is associated with the role-playing genre.
The cancellation of the next "Mass Effect" game is the most concrete casualty named in the reporting. The series has been one of EA's flagship properties, and dropping a new entry removes a major title from the publisher's future line-up.
For players, the immediate effect is the loss of a planned game rather than a released one. For the wider industry, the closure adds to a run of consolidation and cutbacks at large publishers, though the reporting here concerns EA specifically and does not quantify the broader trend.
What to watch
EA has not, in the reporting summarised here, said how the remaining affected studios will be restructured or when the changes take effect. Watch for further statements from EA and from the consortium that now owns the company, and for any detail on severance or reassignment for the roughly 400 people whose roles are being removed.
