BioWare is shutting down and the next Mass Effect game is canceled, EA has announced.
Bloomberg said Mass Effect closes its doors amid mass layoffs at Electronic Arts, which amount to 400 people losing their jobs (approx. 3% of total staff). Roughly 50 of these roles were at BioWare.
EA will continue with sports games, Respawn's Apex Legends, action-adventure games (Star Wars: Jedi 3 and Marvel's Iron Man), and Battlefield. Bloomberg said Respawn and DICE are likely working on Star Wars: Battlefront 3, as had been rumored.
The drastic cuts come just a few months after EA went private in a leveraged buyout worth $55 billion, backed in large part by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, as well as the U.S. private equity firm Silver lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.
In a memo sent to staff today, Cam Weber, president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, president and COO, described itself as "the number one publisher in Western HD gaming, but "our industry is changing quickly."
"Players have more choices than ever for their time and attention, competition is intensifying, and some of our biggest opportunities for growth are beyond the markets, platforms, and business models where EA has traditionally been the strongest," they said.
EA reacted to this by "concentrating our teams, technology, and investment" behind three strategic priorities: "Deepen Our Core; "Expand Our Reach;" and "Transform Our Business."
"Our greatest opportunity starts with our franchises and global communities that have made EA a leader in interactive entertainment," the pair continued.
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