EA shuts down BioWare, ends work on next Mass Effect game

As of 6:24 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026

Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the studio behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age role-playing series, and ending early development of the next Mass Effect game, the company said Wednesday in a memo to employees posted on its website.

"We've had a small team at BioWare working on early-development for Mass Effect. We've made the decision not to move forward with this development, which means we're closing the studio and our Edmonton workspace," the memo said. "BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly."

BioWare confirmed the closure in a post on X at 1:06 p.m. ET. "Now, after more than three decades of shared adventures, BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending," the studio said.

Job cuts

EA's memo did not give a number of job cuts. Variety reported that the restructuring will result in layoffs of about 3% of EA's global workforce, and said that, based on the 14,500 employees EA last reported, the layoffs affect around 400 staffers.

IGN, citing Bloomberg, reported that 400 people would lose their jobs and that roughly 50 of the roles were at BioWare. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier first reported on X at 1:05 p.m. ET that EA was cutting 400 jobs and shutting down BioWare.

The memo said EA would "support impacted employees in exploring other opportunities within EA" and was "committed to treating impacted colleagues with care and respect."

What BioWare said

"For more than 30 years, BioWare has been more than a studio. It has been a home for storytellers, developers, and the players who brought our worlds to life," the studio said in its post, which listed Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, Mass Effect and 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," BioWare said. "From all of us at BioWare, thank you for being the most meaningful part of our story."

Mike Gamble, the executive producer of Mass Effect at BioWare, told fans in a social media post on Wednesday, "Your support has meant everything to me over the past 17 years at BioWare," IGN reported.

EA's other changes

The memo was sent by Cam Weber, EA's president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, its president and chief operating officer, Variety reported. It said EA would concentrate on three priorities it called "Deepen Our Core," "Expand Our Reach" and "Transform Our Business."

"Saying no to some things we're passionate about allows us to focus our teams and resources so we give our biggest opportunities everything they need to succeed," the memo said.

The memo said EA would bring its Respawn and DICE studios together "to collaborate on a future project," without naming it. Variety reported that multiple sources confirmed the project is "Star Wars: Battlefront 3" for Lucasfilm.

EA said it would continue to "invest heavily" in Apex Legends and would deliver "Marvel's Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game," while concentrating on "fewer simultaneous, large-scale projects" in action-adventure. It said EA Sports has two new projects in development, including one it calls "Project Gridiron," and is in pre-production on a return of Fight Night.

For The Sims, the memo said EA was prioritizing "Project Evergreen" and "pausing development on 'Project Lotus.'" It said the studio behind skate. would be changed "to have a more focused, smaller team."

The restructuring is EA's first major move since going private this summer, Variety reported. Variety said EA closed its sale on Aug. 4 to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners in an all-cash deal valued at $55 billion.

What is not known

EA has not publicly confirmed the total number of jobs being cut or how many are at BioWare; those figures come from news reports. It was not known when BioWare and its Edmonton workspace would close or how many affected employees would move to other roles at EA.

EA has not said what the closure means for BioWare's existing games, or for Amazon's planned live-action Mass Effect series, which IGN said was unclear. EA has not confirmed what the Respawn and DICE project is.