EA closes BioWare, ending next Mass Effect project
About 50 staff were in pre-production on the new Mass Effect game when EA shut the Mass Effect and Dragon Age studio.
EA has closed BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, ending pre-production on the next Mass Effect game. Around 50 staff were working on that project when the studio shut, according to Eurogamer.
Tony de Waal, a BioWare veteran who worked on previous Mass Effect and Dragon Age games, said the cancelled Mass Effect title aimed for a level of autonomy and choice no other game has matched. De Waal said the team looked at what Larian Studios and CD Projekt Red delivered in their latest games and set out to take Mass Effect to the next level while staying true to the original trilogy.
De Waal said he was sad players would never see what the team was making.
The closure came after EA's $55bn private acquisition was approved. A year before the closure, BioWare stressed that its new Mass Effect game remained in development, just as the private acquisition was announced.
Quick answers
Did EA close BioWare?
Yes. EA has closed BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
Was the next Mass Effect game cancelled?
Yes. Around 50 BioWare staff were in pre-production on the next Mass Effect game when the studio closed.