Overview
- BioWare confirmed on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, that the studio is shutting down and that early development on the next Mass Effect has been ended and will not continue.
- Bloomberg and other reports say EA will lay off roughly 400 employees across the company, including about 50 people who worked at BioWare.
- EA chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber told staff they reassessed the business and will prioritize reliably profitable franchises such as Apex Legends, Battlefield, and its sports titles.
- EA plans to continue work on other internal projects, including a new Star Wars Jedi title, a Marvel Iron Man game, and a Star Wars shooter co‑developed by Respawn and DICE, while canceling a Sims project codenamed Project Lotus in favor of Project Evergreen.
- The decision follows weak commercial results for recent BioWare work, including Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and marks a broader industry shift toward live‑service models that could limit the future of narrative single‑player franchises and affect the careers of studio storytellers.