Business · Companies · 40 mins ago
BioWare is closing and its next Mass Effect game is cancelled
Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the studio behind the Dragon Age and Mass Effect game series.
BioWare, founded in 1995, also made the original Baldur’s Gate games.
The next Mass Effect game has been cancelled, after plans for it were first teased in 2020.
BioWare said its games became special through players’ choices and connections with their characters and worlds.
The closure follows EA’s acquisition by a group including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and investment firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners.
Bloomberg also reports that EA is laying off around 400 people across the company.
BioWare is closing after more than 30 years, and early development on its next Mass Effect game is ending.
Electronic Arts said it is restructuring its studios and cutting about 3% of its global workforce.
About 400 EA employees are expected to lose their jobs, including around 50 at BioWare, according to reports.
EA will close BioWare’s Edmonton office in Canada.
The news follows EA’s acquisition by the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, completed on August 4, 2026.
- Who
- Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the developer of Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
- What
- BioWare is shutting down, and early development on the next Mass Effect game is ending.
- When
- October 21, 2026.
- Where
- BioWare’s Edmonton office in Canada is to close.
- Why
- EA said it had reviewed its business and decided to restructure its studios. The specific reason for closing BioWare was not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Plans for a new Mass Effect game were first teased.
BioWare said a core team was working on the game despite layoffs.
EA completed its acquisition by the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners.
EA announced BioWare’s closure and the end of early development on the next Mass Effect project.
- BioWare
- Closing after more than 30 years
- Next Mass Effect game
- Early development ending
- EA workforce cuts
- About 400 employees, roughly 3% of staff
- BioWare job cuts
- Around 50, according to Bloomberg
- Edmonton office
- BioWare’s Canadian office to close
- EA acquisition
- Completed August 4, 2026, by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners
12 sources
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What people are saying
There is nothing easy about writing those words.
These games became so much more because you played them, debated your choices, fell in love with the characters, and made these worlds your own.
Over the past several months, we’ve taken a hard look at our business, how we operate, and what it will take to lead in this next era of interactive entertainment