EA closes BioWare and cancels next Mass Effect project, 78 days after $55B buyout

EA closed BioWare on October 21, 2026. The closure ends early development of the next Mass Effect game. The cut removes about 50 of roughly 400 jobs eliminated across EA. It lands 78 days after EA's $55 billion Saudi-led buyout closed in August.

EA's $55 billion Saudi-led buyout closed in August 2026.
BioWare's closure lands just 78 days later.
The cut removes about 50 of roughly 400 jobs eliminated across EA.
Early development on the next Mass Effect title ends with the studio.

Co-founder Greg Zeschuk gave his first interview since the closure.
"The leveraged buyout was the final nail in the coffin." - Greg Zeschuk, BioWare co-founder
He blamed BioWare's demise on executives lacking game-making experience.

BioWare launched in Edmonton in 1995 and EA bought it in 2007.
The closure ends 31 years of single-player RPG development there.
EA continues work on Marvel's Iron Man and a new Star Wars Jedi game.
The job cuts follow Microsoft's 3,200 Xbox layoffs and Epic's 1,000-role cut earlier this year.

For Publishers & Developers: Recruit displaced senior narrative designers and writers before competing studios absorb them.
For Investors & VC: Add debt-holder pressure to cut prestige studios to publisher acquisition diligence.
For Service Vendors: Pitch narrative co-dev capacity to publishers trimming internal story-driven teams.