Darrah: EA may sell Mass Effect, Dragon Age IPs after BioWare closure
The former BioWare executive producer said EA owns all of the studio's IPs and could sell or shelve them now that no BioWare game is in development.
Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah said EA may be more likely to sell BioWare franchises such as Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire now that no BioWare game is in development at the company, according to ign.com.
Darrah said EA owns all of BioWare's intellectual property. With no new BioWare title in production inside the publisher, he argued that selling those IPs could become a more attractive option.
He added that EA might instead hold on to the properties and never use them again, leaving the franchises dormant.
According to Darrah, EA appears to be in a cost-control mode right now. He suggested the company could later shift to a revenue-generation mode, at which point selling IPs would become more desirable.
For now, he said fans will have to wait to see whether EA is interested in selling any of its dormant IPs.
Studio closure and ownership
On October 21, EA announced a major restructuring and said it was closing BioWare and its Edmonton workspace, ending early development on a new Mass Effect. Some fans have suggested that CD Projekt Red could take on the IPs. Darrah worked as an executive producer at BioWare from 1997 to 2021.
Quick answers
Does EA own the Mass Effect and Dragon Age IPs?
Yes. According to Mark Darrah, EA owns all of BioWare's IPs, including Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Jade Empire.
Why might EA sell the BioWare IPs?
Darrah said that with no BioWare game in development inside EA, selling the IPs could become more likely, especially if the company moves from cost control to revenue generation.
What happened to BioWare?
On October 21, EA announced a major restructuring and said it was closing BioWare and its Edmonton workspace, ending early development on a new Mass Effect.