Rest in Peace, BioWare
In 2007, EA (Electronic Arts Inc.) acquired BioWare and promised to develop an ambitious Star Wars game. Nearly 20 years later, EA closed BioWare for the same reason.
EA Chose Star Wars Over Mass Effect
Last week, EA announced the closure of its renowned studio, known for developing RPGs such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect. There were many reasons for the shutdown, but according to insiders, the primary factor was the recent collaboration with Lucasfilm, owned by Walt Disney, to develop the third Star Wars: Battlefront game.
Coinciding with this deal, EA is facing new financial pressures due to a $55 billion leveraged buyout led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Completed in August, the acquisition took EA private and left it with $18 billion in debt.
According to insiders, EA executives, while assessing their game portfolio for the coming years, found they had two sci-fi action games, each expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars: Star Wars: Battlefront 3 and the next Mass Effect. They ultimately chose to invest in Star Wars, leading to the closure of BioWare. These sources requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Star Wars: Battlefront 3 hadn't even begun development, but EA executives believed it posed less risk and was more predictable than the new Mass Effect—and EA has always been better at shooters than role-playing games.
Of course, there were other factors behind the studio's closure.
BioWare's Recent Works Received Poor Reviews
BioWare's recent games have received mixed reviews, including Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017, which was widely mocked by netizens, and Anthem in 2019, which was a commercial failure. The studio's latest release, Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024, sold 50% below expectations, leading EA to significantly reduce BioWare's staff and transfer many employees to other departments within the company. When the studio closed last week, BioWare had only 50 employees remaining.
EA Internal Management Restructuring
Internal company politics may have also contributed to the closure.According to insiders, this summer, EA restructured its executive leadership, promoting EA Sports veterans David Tinson and Cam Weber, while marginalizing Laura Miele, who oversaw EA Studios operations and was a strong supporter of BioWare and the Mass Effect series.
When asked about BioWare's closure, an EA spokesperson stated in a declaration that the company "collectively made this decision after months of planning, review, and analysis, including careful consideration of the changing business environment, industry dynamics, and our long-term priorities," but provided no further details.
The spokesperson added, "While this was not an easy decision, we ultimately had to make tough choices to allow our teams to focus on the biggest opportunities ahead, including investing in new projects within our portfolio."
BioWare's History
The relationship between EA and BioWare was always somewhat discordant. EA, one of the largest game publishers globally, primarily focuses on fast-paced sports and action games. It's like the jock hanging out in the stands; whereas BioWare is like the nerd playing Dungeons & Dragons in the cafeteria. BioWare developers complained that EA didn't understand how to market and support their RPGs, while EA seemed to always prioritize the steady income from annual franchises like Madden NFL and FIFA.
Even the merger between the two companies was unusual. In 2005, BioWare's founders sold the studio to a private equity firm called Elevation Partners. Founded by several wealthy investors, including U2 lead singer Bono, the firm aimed to build a video game empire. However, in 2007, Elevation co-founder John Riccitiello left to become CEO of Electronic Arts. Subsequently, EA acquired BioWare and another major Elevation-owned studio, Pandemic, for over $800 million. (In filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EA stated that Riccitiello recused himself from the acquisition, though he stood to gain up to $4.9 million from the deal.)
This uneasy partnership did yield some successes. After the acquisition, BioWare released several hit games in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. EA also heavily promoted BioWare's Star Wars game—an online RPG titled Star Wars: The Old Republic, which was a key factor in facilitating the acquisition and ultimately generated over $1 billion in revenue. Dragon Age: Inquisition, released in 2014, received critical acclaim and even won Game of the Year at The Game Awards.
But then Everythinggj started going downhill:
Mass Effect: Andromeda was heavily criticized by players for its awkward facial animations.
Two years later, the company's online shooter Anthem failed at launch and was eventually shut down after a few years on the market.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard, seen as the studio's last hope, faced widespread criticism from players for its character designs being too "woke" even before its release, and its narrative was considered inferior to previous entries.
In January 2025, EA significantly reduced BioWare's staff, leaving only a small team to continue developing the next Mass Effect game. Announced back in 2020, the game is still in pre-production because its team, led by several series veterans, paused the project for two years to work on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Developers of the new game are confident in their vision but cautiously note that it will still take several years to complete.
On October 21, Bloomberg reported that EA would lay off 400 employees, including 50 from its BioWare studio. It remains unclear whether EA considered selling BioWare before shutting it down, but EA has historically been reluctant to sell any of its game franchises, even those that have been discontinued. Additionally, EA is moving forward with a Mass Effect TV series project developed in partnership with Amazon.
Ultimately, the decisive factor leading to BioWare's closure mirrors the reality faced by game companies laying off tens of thousands of jobs over the past three years: game budgets have grown exponentially while sales have not kept pace, forcing companies to shift development focus to regions outside North America and concentrate on their most popular franchises. Moreover, Star Wars is more popular than most movies.