Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare has been shuttered by Electronic Arts just months after the U.S. publisher was taken private by an investor consortium led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign investment fund.
An internal email obtained by Vertical Slice, penned by EA chief studios officer Cam Weber and chief operating officer David Tinson, confirmed that BioWare had been in the early stages of developing the next Mass Effect but will now be torched.
"We've made the decision not to move forward with this development, which means we're closing the studio and our Edmonton workspace," reads the email. "BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre and we do not take this decision lightly."
Bloomberg is reporting that 400 people will be laid off by EA, which billed itself as the "number one publisher in Western HD gaming" in the email sent to staff.
Weber and Tinson said EA has taken a "hard look" at its business over the past few months and will now be concentrating investments, teams, and technologies around three strategic priorities that will enable the publisher to "deepen our core," "expand our reach," and "transform our business."
What does that mean for other studios under the company? EA intends to bring together Respawn and DICE to "collaborate on a future project" within the shooter genre. Weber and Tinson said Battlefield 6 represented a "great success," and explained EA will take the lessons learned on that project forward to "deliver a shooter portfolio that unlocks growth." That success didn't stop EA from cutting jobs across Battlefield Studios in March this year.
They said EA will also continue to "invest heavily" in Apex Legends.
Within the action-adventure genre, EA reiterated plans to launch Marvel's Iron Man and the next Star Wars: Jedi game. "Beyond that, we will concentrate our efforts on fewer simulations, large-scale projects, ensuring that every game we build in this space is fully set up for success," the email continues.
The duo said EA Sports continues to operate from a position of strength, before adding the company will continue "investing in the global growth" of EA Sports FC and the wider EA Sports portfolio.
Those investments will see the division produce two new projects. One is billed as a "brand new, social-first open world experience" for American football fans called 'Project Gridiron.' The other will see Fight Night be revived, as has already been announced.
The Sims and Skate will also purportedly continue to be priorities for EA. Weber and Tinson said the company is keen to focus on the "long-term" potential of both franchises—and yet, both execs also confirmed EA will be "making changes" to the studio overseeing the Skate series. Full Circle isn't mentioned by name, but an anonymous source told Vertical Slice the studio—subjected to layoffs earlier this year—has been targeted. That has been corroborated by multiple impacted Full Circle workers posting on LinkedIn, including seasonal creative director John Elper.
A planned The Sims project codenamed 'Lotus' has also been paused, with EA instead choosing to focus on a new venture dubbed 'Project Evergreen.'
"The decisions we're making in our priorities, how we work, and with our portfolio reflect true belief in EA's future," reads the email. "Some open exciting new possibilities. Others are difficult, especially for the people and teams across the company who are directly affected. In those cases, we will support impacted employees in exploring other opportunities within EA, and we're committed to treating impacted colleagues with care and respect."
EA will host a Global Town Hall in November where it intends to discuss its new "direction" with employees.
Vertical Slice has approached the company for comment.
Chris is an award-winning reporter with over a decade of experience covering the video game industry. He was formerly news editor at Game Developer and is currently the founder and editor of this resplendent website.
