EA Shuts Down BioWare, Cancels Next Mass Effect and Lays Off 400 Workers Weeks After Going Private

Electronic Arts is shutting down BioWare, the studio behind iconic RPG franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect, just weeks after completing its acquisition by a consortium of firms and going private. The company said it was reorganising its business to drive “sustained growth” and reprioritising projects in its portfolio of upcoming games. As part of the streamlining, EA will reportedly cut 400 jobs across the company.

The cuts, first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, will lead to the shutdown of BioWare, a historic game studio that helmed industry defining titles like Baldur's Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic before finding broader success with Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises.

EA said it was also cancelling the next Mass Effect game, which was in early development at a small team at BioWare. According to the Bloomberg report, which cites people familiar with the company's plans, the roughly 50-strong BioWare team will be laid off entirely.

“BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly,” EA said in a statement.

“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,” BioWare said in a note shared on social media platforms.

“Now, after more than three decades of shared adventures, BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending.

“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.”

EA Reprioritising Games Portfolio

EA said it would reprioritise investment into its core franchises across shooter, sports, and action-adventure genres, including Battlefield, Apex Legends, the next Star Wars Jedi game, and two new EA Sports projects, including a brand-new, “social-first” open-world American Football title— codenamed “Project Gridiron”—and a new entry in the Fight Night series of boxing games.

Two EA studios—Respawn and Dice—will also collaborate on a future project that will expand the company's portfolio of shooter games, in addition to future Battlefield titles. In the action-adventure genre, EA said it would focus on fewer simultaneous, large-scale projects to ensure each project is “fully set up for success”.

Additionally, the company confirmed it was pausing development on Project Lotus, the mobile multiplayer Sims title, to focus its efforts on Project Evergreen, which is expected to be a follow-up to Sims 4.

“The decisions we're making in our priorities, how we work, and with our portfolio reflect our belief in EA's future. Some open exciting new possibilities,” EA said. “Others are difficult, especially for the people and teams across the company who are directly affected. In those cases, we will support impacted employees in exploring other opportunities within EA, and we're committed to treating impacted colleagues with care and respect.”

The cuts at EA come just over two months after the company finalised its acquisition by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, private equity firm Silver Lake, and American investment firm Affinity Partners and went private. The company was acquired in a record-breaking leveraged buyout deal, valued at $55 billion.

As part of the buyout, however, EA also took on a $20 billion debt in the form of financing committed by JPMorgan. EA's non-convertible debt in 2026 before the completion of the acquisition stood at $1.485 billion.

In May 2025, EA cancelled a Black Panther game and shut down developer Cliffhanger Games in a sweeping round of cuts at the company. Weeks before cuts, the company also laid off hundreds of workers at Respawn and cancelled a Titanfall game. In addition to layoffs across the parent company, cuts at BioWare left the studio with less than 100 employees following the underwhelming launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024.