Electronic Arts (EA) is shutting down BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, and canceling the next Mass Effect game as part of a restructuring announced Wednesday, October 21.
BioWare’s closure comes as EA cuts approximately 400 jobs across the company, including around 50 at the studio, bringing its 30-year history to an end, according to The Verge.
In an internal announcement published by EA, Chief Studios Officer Cam Weber and Chief Operating Officer David Tinson confirmed that a small BioWare team had been working on the next Mass Effect game, which was still in early development. BioWare’s Edmonton, Canada, workspace will also close.
“BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly,” the executives wrote.
BioWare confirmed the news in a farewell message on its website, thanking the developers and players who had supported the studio over the years.
Founded in 1995 and acquired by EA in 2007, BioWare became known for story-driven role-playing games where players’ decisions could change relationships and the outcome of the story. Its catalog includes Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age.
But BioWare struggled to maintain that success in recent years. Mass Effect: Andromeda, released in 2017, received mixed reviews, while 2019’s Anthem failed to become the long-term multiplayer success EA had hoped for.
The studio’s most recent release, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, arrived in October 2024 but fell short of EA’s sales expectations. The disappointing performance was followed by staffing reductions in 2025, leaving a much smaller team working on the next Mass Effect.
The closure also follows EA’s $55 billion buyout, completed in August 2026. The deal, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, took EA private and added approximately $18 billion in debt to the company’s books.
EA had previously told investors it planned to reduce expenses by as much as $700 million, partly through cuts to research and development spending.
In Wednesday’s announcement, EA said it would concentrate on fewer large-scale projects while continuing development of major franchises, including Battlefield, Apex Legends, Marvel’s Iron Man, and the next Star Wars Jedi game.
Other EA projects are also affected. Development of a planned The Sims game, known as Project Lotus, is being paused in favor of another project, while the team behind skate. will be reduced. EA also announced that Respawn Entertainment and DICE will collaborate on a future project.
The next Mass Effect game was originally announced in 2020, giving fans hope that the franchise would continue after Mass Effect: Andromeda. EA still owns the series, but with BioWare closing, the publisher has not announced whether another studio will take over development.
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