Electronic Arts (EA) has announced a significant restructuring at BioWare, the studio behind the renowned Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises. The reorganization involves shifting a number of BioWare developers to other EA projects and focusing the studio's full attention on the upcoming Mass Effect game.
In a recent blog post, BioWare's general manager, Gary McKay, detailed the changes, stating that the studio is "taking this opportunity between full development cycles to reimagine how we work at BioWare." He added that at this stage of development, the full studio's support is not required for the Mass Effect project. McKay emphasized that the studio has worked over the past few months to match many of its colleagues with suitable roles within other EA teams.
According to IGN, EA has successfully transitioned an undisclosed number of BioWare developers into equivalent positions elsewhere in the company. However, a smaller group of developers from the Dragon Age team are facing termination. These individuals are being offered the opportunity to apply for other roles within EA.
BioWare has undergone several structural changes in recent years, including layoffs in 2023 and multiple high-profile departures during the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Notably, director Corinne Busche announced her departure from the studio last week. The current number of employees at BioWare remains unclear. When IGN sought more details from EA about the impact of these changes, including the number of affected individuals and potential layoffs, EA did not disclose specific figures. However, an EA spokesperson commented that "the studio's priority was Dragon Age. During this time there were people continuing to build the vision for the next Mass Effect. Now that The Veilguard has shipped, the studio's full focus is Mass Effect."
The spokesperson also stated that "while we're not sharing numbers, the studio has the right number of people in the right roles to work on Mass Effect at this stage of development."
The new Mass Effect project, announced four years ago, is still in its early stages. BioWare's current approach is to concentrate on one game at a time. Developers who had been working on Mass Effect were temporarily moved to Dragon Age to ensure its completion and are now transitioning back to Mass Effect. The development of Mass Effect is being led by series veterans including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley.
This announcement follows last week's news that Dragon Age: The Veilguard fell short of its player targets by nearly 50%, prompting EA to adjust its fiscal year guidance. This adjustment was also influenced by underwhelming results from EA Sports FC 25. EA is scheduled to hold its Q3 earnings conference call on February 4.
