Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the studio behind Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age and Mass Effect, ending a more than three-decade run that helped define the modern role-playing game. The closure was confirmed in a statement from the studio and in a company-wide message sent to EA staff, which also confirmed that early development on the next Mass Effect game has been cancelled.

A storied studio closes its doors

The shutdown is part of a wider restructuring at EA that includes roughly 400 layoffs across the company, with around 50 of those at BioWare. The cuts follow EA's $55 billion take-private deal with an investor group led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, which closed in August. The company framed the decision as a difficult but deliberate choice about where to concentrate its resources.

"BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly," said Cam Weber, EA president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, EA president and COO, in the staff announcement. BioWare's own message described the studio as "more than a studio" that had been "a home for storytellers, developers, and the players who brought our worlds to life."

Mass Effect and the road to closure

The cancellation of the next Mass Effect project is a significant loss for the franchise's fans, who had been waiting for a follow-up to the original trilogy and the poorly received Mass Effect: Andromeda. The studio had kept a small team working on early development of the new game, but EA has now decided not to move that work forward, which in turn led to the decision to close the studio and its Edmonton workspace.

BioWare's recent track record had been rocky. Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017 was widely seen as a misstep for the franchise, the 2019 live-service bet Anthem did not pan out, and EA laid off some BioWare staff in 2025 after Dragon Age: The Veilguard missed sales expectations. The closure caps a long decline for a studio that was once synonymous with narrative-driven RPGs.

What EA is prioritising instead

In the same announcement, Weber and Tinson outlined where EA is redirecting its investment. The company says it will bring together Respawn and DICE to collaborate on a future project, which Bloomberg reports is likely a new Star Wars: Battlefront game. EA is also continuing work on Marvel's Iron Man and a new Star Wars Jedi title. In sports, the company is developing a "brand-new, social-first open-world experience" for its American football team under the name "Project Gridiron," and is in pre-production on a new Fight Night boxing game. For The Sims, EA is pausing development on "Project Lotus" to focus on "Project Evergreen," and it is making changes at the Skate studio to create a smaller, more focused team.

The wider industry context

The BioWare closure is the latest in a string of major contractions across the games industry this year. Xbox has undertaken a "reset" that includes 3,200 cuts, Bungie has made "significant" layoffs, and Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has laid off more than 1,000 staff. The pattern suggests that even well-known studios and franchises are not immune as publishers concentrate resources on fewer, larger bets.

Mass Effect on TV and what comes next

The fate of Amazon's planned Mass Effect television series was initially uncertain. Amazon MGM Studios spokesperson Nate Kirtman declined to comment, and EA spokesperson Justin Higgs said there was "nothing to share on that at this point." Later, IGN reported that the show remains in development. EA has said it will support affected employees in exploring other opportunities within the company, and it plans to discuss the changes further at a global town hall in November.