EA was acquired by a Saudi fund, marking a major turning point for the company. At the time, there were concerns that this acquisition would lead to project cancellations and studio closures. Now, with BioWare officially shutting down, the worst-case scenario has become reality.
But this isn't the first time EA has shut down an acquired studio. Looking back at its nearly 40-year corporate history, EA has directly closed 20 studios after acquiring them, highlighting its management's poor track record in retaining development teams.
With BioWare's closure, the total number of studios shut down by EA after acquisition reaches 20. The most notable ones are listed below:
Maxis Studio: Known for The Sims
Westwood Studios: Command & Conquer, Dune
Bullfrog Productions: Dungeon Keeper
Visceral Games: Dead Space trilogy
BioWare: Dragon Age, Mass Effect
The remaining 15 are: Origin Systems, Batteries Included, Kesmai, Danger Close Games, Black Box Games, EA Chicago, Hypnotix, Mythic Entertainment, Phenomic Game Development, EA Salt Lake, Pandemic, J2MSoft, Playfish, Chillingo, and Industrial Toys.
Since its founding, EA has shut down the aforementioned 20 acquired studios. This trend is alarming—being acquired by EA does not guarantee a studio's survival. BioWare is undoubtedly the most significant among these 20. Although Dragon Age: The Veilguard underperformed commercially, the studio still possessed creative potential. Many players believe it would have been a better outcome if they had been given the chance to complete Mass Effect 5.