Overview
- EA closed BioWare and cut roughly 400 jobs as part of a companywide round of layoffs tied to post-acquisition cost targets.
- Current and former employees described the layoff process as secretive and impersonal, with some told via chat-disabled Zoom calls and colleagues learning of departures from public social posts.
- Staff say morale is “terrible” after cuts and that managers are strongly promoting generative-AI tools such as Claude, which some fear will be used to shrink or reshape roles.
- BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk called the private-equity buyout the “final nail in the coffin,” and fans have mobilized with petitions, fundraisers, and leaked project material to try to save Mass Effect.
- Analysts and former staff say the Saudi-led buyout left EA with heavy debt and explicit goals to cut hundreds of millions annually, making an external sale or quick revival of BioWare’s IP unlikely while the company focuses on sports and live-service franchises.