BioWare Shutdown: Will EA Sell Mass Effect & Dragon Age?

What happens to Mass Effect and Dragon Age now that BioWare is gone? That's the question every fan is asking after EA announced it's shutting down the legendary studio. And former BioWare Executive Producer Mark Darrah just shared his thoughts — and it's a mix of cautious hope and grim possibility.

First, the bad news: EA confirmed the closure in a major restructuring statement on October 21. "We've made the decision not to move forward with this development, which means we're closing the studio and our Edmonton workspace," EA said, referring to a small team that was working on early-development for Mass Effect. The company called BioWare "a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre" and said they don't take the decision lightly. Fans everywhere are mourning, and fired staff are getting plenty of well-wishes.

But the burning question remains: what happens to the IPs? BioWare gave us Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Jade Empire — all owned 100% by EA. Some fans have urged EA to sell them off, with CD Projekt Red being a popular fantasy pick due to the two studios' close relationship over the years. Darrah, who worked at BioWare from 1997 to 2021, weighed in on YouTube. "Remember BioWare is 100% owned by EA," he said. "EA owns all the IPs. They own Dragon Age, they own Mass Effect, they own Jade Empire. That doesn't change the situation, really, at all."

So what does change? According to Darrah, the fact that nobody is working on a BioWare game within EA — and chances are there never will be — "might make them more likely to sell off those IPs. But it might also make them more likely to just try to forget that they ever existed and bury them in the vault." Ouch. So it's a coin flip between a sale and a permanent shelf.

Darrah also noted that timing is everything. "I think we still are gonna have to wait a little bit before we see if EA has any interest in selling off some of its dormant IPs," he said. "Right now, they seem to be in cost control mode. They might start into a revenue-generation mode where selling IPs might be more desirable." In other words, don't expect a quick deal — EA is watching its wallet.

There's a big financial backdrop here too. EA was acquired by a consortium of private investors back in August in a mind-boggling $55 billion deal. As part of that acquisition, the investment group was reportedly banking on AI to help cut costs and manage its debt. With that massive debt hanging over them, some fans wonder if selling off BioWare's beloved IPs to other developers — or even back to BioWare under a different brand — might be on the table.

For now, nothing is certain. The only sure thing is that fans and fellow developers are equally beside themselves as they grapple with the news that Mass Effect 5 might never get made. It's a tough pill to swallow for anyone who grew up with these games.

What do you think — should EA sell the rights to Mass Effect and Dragon Age, or hold onto them? And would you trust another studio to do them justice? Let us know in the comments.