Did you ever think you'd see the day BioWare closed its doors? Yeah, neither did we. Last night the studio confirmed it's shutting down, and development on the next Mass Effect game is officially over. Just over two months after EA was acquired by Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake, BioWare is gone.
The closure comes as part of 400 job losses spread across several EA studios, including Skate developer Full Circle. The acquisition itself had already raised eyebrows, since the deal loaded EA up with $18 billion in debt, and mass layoffs were predicted right from the start. Unfortunately, those predictions turned out to be accurate.
Casey Hudson, the man who directed all three games in the original Mass Effect trilogy, took to Twitter to share his reaction. "This is sad news on multiple fronts – for those of us who worked there, for our friends and colleagues at BioWare who are impacted, and for fans who were looking forward to the next Mass Effect adventure," he wrote. Hard to argue with any of that.
Hudson also looked back on where it all began for him. "I started my career at BioWare and will forever be grateful to the founders, Greg and Ray, for inviting me to join in BioWare's legendary journey," he said, adding that the studio's "legacy will live on through those who were part of it and continue to create games through a passion for unforgettable stories, worlds and characters." His first credit was on BioWare's shooter MDK 2, before he went on to direct Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect trilogy. He returned to the studio in 2017 as general manager, overseeing Anthem and Mass Effect Legendary Edition. These days he's working on Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic at Arcanaut Studios.
Sadly, this story is part of a bigger pattern. Microsoft is currently in the middle of laying off 3,200 Xbox employees by the end of the fiscal year, and earlier this year Doom developer Id Software was gutted by Microsoft. On top of EA's $18 billion debt, CEO Andrew Wilson made 305x more than the average EA employee last year, and he could qualify for an additional $125 million in severance if the new owners decide to let him go. As 2026 has shown, not even the most established studios in the industry are safe anymore.
So what does this mean for Mass Effect fans? The fifth game is cancelled, and a studio that shaped so many of our favorite stories is officially history. It's a rough moment for the people who worked there and for everyone who grew up with these games.
What do you think about BioWare closing down? Will you be picking up Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic when it arrives?
Comments (0)
Log in to join the discussion
Log InNo comments yet