BioWare closing: EA shuts the Mass Effect studio and cuts about 400 jobs

BioWare closing: what EA announced on October 21

The BioWare closing is confirmed. Electronic Arts told staff on October 21, 2026 that it is shutting the studio and its Edmonton workspace, and that early development on the next Mass Effect game will not go ahead. BioWare confirmed the closure in its own statement, which opened by saying the studio is closing after more than three decades.

The news came inside a broader restructuring letter from chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber, headlined around building EA's next chapter. The letter does not read like a dedicated BioWare announcement. The studio sits in a list of decisions, which is part of why the reaction in Edmonton and among fans was so sharp: a 31-year-old studio that made Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and Dragon Age was ended in a paragraph of a company-wide memo.

The leadership letter frames the cuts as the result of a review. It says that "over the past several months, we've taken a hard look at our business," and that EA is concentrating its teams, technology and investment behind three priorities: deepening its core, expanding its reach and transforming its business.

The numbers: about 400 jobs, about 50 at BioWare

EA's letter, as we read it, gives no headcount. The 400 figure comes from press reporting: Gematsu and Push Square both put the cut at about 400 roles, which Gematsu describes as roughly 3% of EA's workforce. Bloomberg, according to Gematsu, was told by a person familiar with the plans that about 50 of those roles are at BioWare. Treat both as reported figures, not company statements, until EA publishes its own.

The BioWare number looks small beside the studio's history, and the reason is that the studio had already shrunk. Co-founder Trent Oster, now chief executive of Beamdog, estimated that about 40 people were left at the end, mostly working on the fifth Mass Effect. That is also an estimate from one person outside the company, so it should be read as colour, not as an official count.

The date matters for anyone tracking the wider downturn. This lands in a year of heavy cuts across the industry, and Edmonton's mayor pointed to Xbox as part of the same pattern. For the headcount behind that comparison, see our own tracking of the Xbox job cuts.

What is cancelled, and what EA is still building

The clearest cancellation is the next Mass Effect, which BioWare said was in early development. The letter says EA has made the decision not to move forward with it. A second Sims project, codenamed Project Lotus, is described differently depending on the outlet: Gematsu and Push Square report it as cancelled, while the letter as we read it describes it as paused. EA is also shrinking the team on skate., which continues.

The letter then lists what survives. That includes the Sims project codenamed Project Evergreen, Apex Legends, Battlefield, the next Star Wars Jedi game, Marvel's Iron Man, a new American football project called Project Gridiron, and Fight Night, which is in pre-production. EA Sports reveals are promised over the next few months, and a Global Town Hall in November is billed as the next chance for leadership to explain direction.

Gematsu also relayed a Variety report, citing multiple sources, that Star Wars: Battlefront III is in active development at EA, with Respawn and DICE collaborating. That is reporting, not an EA announcement, and EA's letter itself refers only to a Respawn and DICE collaboration.

How BioWare got here: 1995 to The Veilguard

BioWare was incorporated on February 1, 1995 by Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, then recently graduated doctors from the University of Alberta, who each put in $100,000. Its early run included Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, then Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and from 2007 the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises that defined it.

EA bought BioWare's parent company on October 11, 2007 for US$775 million, according to the studio's Wikipedia history. Oster left in 2009 and has said "EA, at its core, is a monetization company," describing BioWare as an innovation company with long investment cycles. That is his view, offered after the fact, and EA has not responded to it in the material we reviewed.

The final stretch is better documented. Dragon Age: The Veilguard launched on October 31, 2024. EA said it engaged 1.5 million players in the three months to December 31, 2024, which was about half of its expectations, and BioWare was restructured in January 2025 to focus on Mass Effect. The studio's last released game is therefore Veilguard, and its last announced project is now cancelled.

Reactions from Edmonton and former staff

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack, who is a Mass Effect fan, put the blame on corporate decision making rather than the city: "This has nothing to do with Edmonton." He also said, "The video game industry is what it is today because of BioWare, and you can never replace them," and linked the closure to Xbox layoffs across the past six months.

Travis Gibson, vice chair of Digital Alberta, called it a tremendous loss and said, "Today sucks. BioWare going down sucks." Digital Alberta says it will support affected workers, including anyone who wants to found a studio. Former BioWare staff already run or helped start Edmonton studios including Studio Reset, Arcanaut Studios and Beamdog, so the local talent base is not starting from zero.

Oster called the closure a seismic blow to the local industry. BioWare's own statement took a more commemorative tone and said that what generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember.

What happens to Mass Effect and Dragon Age now

EA's letter does not say what happens to the Mass Effect or Dragon Age intellectual property. EA owns both, and nothing in the material we reviewed says either is being sold, licensed or shelved. The honest position is that the next Mass Effect is cancelled and that no replacement developer, game or timeline has been named.

Existing games are unaffected by the studio closing. They remain on sale on the stores that carry them, and we list current Steam prices in our guide to BioWare games in order. Whether EA keeps patching older titles, or what happens to online services, has not been addressed in the letter we read.

One caution on causes. Push Square notes that EA was taken over in a $55 billion buyout by a consortium including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and says it is not confirmed whether the buyout influenced the decision. No source we opened establishes that link, so we are not drawing one.

What to watch next

The next fixed date is EA's Global Town Hall in November, where the letter says leadership will discuss direction. Look for three things: an exact job count, any statement about the Mass Effect and Dragon Age rights, and whether EA names who will carry those series forward, if anyone.

Also watch for the Battlefront report to be confirmed or denied. Variety's sourcing is anonymous, and EA has so far confirmed only a Respawn and DICE collaboration. Until the company names the game, it belongs in the rumour column, however plausible.

We will update this piece if EA publishes a headcount or a statement on the franchises, and we will date any correction on the page.