{"id":10580,"date":"2026-10-22T07:03:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T07:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=10580"},"modified":"2026-10-22T07:03:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T07:03:05","slug":"video-game-developer-bioware-shuts-down-next-mass-effect-canceled-amid-broader-layoffs-at-ea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=10580","title":{"rendered":"Video game developer BioWare shuts down, next ‘Mass Effect’ canceled amid broader layoffs at EA"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Electronic Arts logo is seen in this illustration taken Sept. 30, 2025 \/ Reuters – Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Video game publisher Electronic Arts is shutting down the popular and influential game development studio BioWare after more than three decades. The upcoming \u201cMass Effect\u201d game, the fifth since 2007, has been canceled.<\/p>\n

BioWare announced the closure on social media Wednesday following a report by Bloomberg that also said the company is laying off 400 people, including about 50 at BioWare.<\/p>\n

The Redwood Shores, California-based maker of popular titles like \u201cBattlefield\u201d and \u201cThe Sims\u201d closed the $55 billion sale of its business to Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund PIF, investment firm Silver Lake Partners and Affinity Partners, which is run by President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner.<\/p>\n

Representatives for EA did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the layoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember,\u201d the studio said via social media. \u201cThese games became so much more because you played them, debated your choices, fell in love with characters, and made these worlds your own.\u201d<\/p>\n

BioWare built its reputation on immersive role-playing adventures, from sword-and-sorcery fantasies like \u201cBaldur\u2019s Gate\u201d and \u201cDragon Age\u201d to science fiction epics like \u201cStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic\u201d and \u201cMass Effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

But its effort to branch out into multiplayer shooters, 2019\u2019s \u201cAnthem,\u201d steered away from the studio\u2019s strength as a creator of compelling single-player narratives. It failed to find the sort of loyal audience that keeps online hits like \u201cFortnite\u201d and \u201cOverwatch\u201d humming.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the latest installments of its two most popular original franchises \u2014 2017\u2019s \u201cMass Effect: Andromeda\u201d and 2024\u2019s \u201cDragon Age: The Veilguard\u201d \u2014 met with mixed reviews and disappointed many fans. A new chapter of \u201cMass Effect\u201d was in development before BioWare announced its shutdown.<\/p>\n

BioWare, based in Canada, was founded in 1995 and acquired by EA in 2007.<\/p>\n

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Electronic Arts logo is seen in this illustration taken Sept. 30, 2025 \/ Reuters – Yonhap Video game publisher Electronic Arts is shutting down the popular and influential game development studio BioWare after more than three decades. The upcoming \u201cMass Effect\u201d game, the fifth since 2007, has been canceled. BioWare announced the closure on social…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t