EA Shuts Down BioWare After 30 Years, Cancels Next Mass Effect Project

Electronic Arts is shutting down BioWare, the Edmonton studio that built its reputation on Mass Effect and Dragon Age, and has ended early development on the next game in the Mass Effect series. The decision was announced October 21, 2026 in a memo to EA staff titled "Building EA's Next Chapter," signed by EA executives Cam Weber and David Tinson.

The memo says EA had a small team working on early development for the next Mass Effect, and that the company has decided not to move forward. "This means we're closing the studio and our Edmonton workspace," the memo reads, calling BioWare "a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre."

Three Decades Building Role-Playing Games

BioWare was founded in Edmonton, Alberta in 1995 by Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, and built its name on story-driven RPGs: Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Electronic Arts acquired the studio in 2007, and BioWare followed with the Mass Effect trilogy and the Dragon Age series, two franchises that defined a generation of Western role-playing games. Not every project landed the same way: the multiplayer shooter Anthem launched in 2019 to a rocky reception and was shut down a few years later, a stumble the studio spent much of the following decade trying to answer for. Its most recent release was Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024, and its last major live project remains Star Wars: The Old Republic, which continues under developer Broadsword rather than BioWare itself.

What EA's Memo Says, and Doesn't Say

EA's memo frames the closure as part of a broader realignment around three priorities it calls Deepen Our Core, Expand Our Reach and Transform Our Business. It points to Battlefield 6, Apex Legends and the EA Sports FC franchise as where the company is concentrating investment, alongside upcoming releases Marvel's Iron Man and a new Star Wars Jedi game. The memo does not give a specific reason for ending BioWare's Mass Effect project, beyond saying leadership made "deliberate choices" after "a hard look" at the business.

The move comes a little over a month after EA completed its roughly $55 billion take-private acquisition by a consortium including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, a deal that has fueled speculation about tighter spending across EA's portfolio. Industry watchers and former BioWare staff reacted to the closure within hours of the memo leaking into public view, with many pointing out that BioWare had weathered previous rounds of EA restructuring, including Anthem's cancellation and a wave of 2023 layoffs, without the studio itself being shut down.

“BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly.”Cam Weber and David Tinson, EA's Chief Studios Officer and Chief Experiences Officer

The Toll on Staff

EA's memo does not cite a specific headcount, saying only that the changes affect "people and teams" and that the company will help those impacted look for other roles internally. Bloomberg has reported the cuts run to roughly 400 positions companywide, about 3% of EA's global workforce, with around 50 of those tied directly to BioWare's closure. Those figures have not been confirmed by EA itself and should be read as reported rather than official.

What Survives

BioWare's back catalog isn't going anywhere. Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the Mass Effect Legendary Edition remain purchasable and playable, and Star Wars: The Old Republic keeps receiving updates from Broadsword. What ends is the only new BioWare-made project in active development: the next mainline Mass Effect, which the studio had only recently begun building before EA pulled the plug. EA's memo gives no indication that the Mass Effect license itself is being retired, only that this particular early-stage effort, and the team assembled to build it, will not continue inside BioWare.

• BioWare's Edmonton studio and workspace are closing.
• Early development on the next Mass Effect project has ended.
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Mass Effect Legendary Edition remain available and unaffected as products.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic continues under Broadsword, not BioWare.

EA says staff will hear more detail at a company-wide town hall in November. For now, one of the studios most responsible for shaping the modern role-playing game is closing its doors after more than thirty years.