EA cuts 400 jobs, shuts Mass Effect studio BioWare after $55B buyout
What's the deal? Electronic ArtsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → will close BioWareDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, and cut about 400 jobs — roughly 3% of its workforce, Bloomberg reported. The next Mass Effect game, in early development, has been cancelled, along with a planned Sims project.
Why now? The layoffs come two months after EA went private in a $55 billion buyout led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, a deal that saddled the company with around $18 billion in debt. EA had told investors it planned to save up to $700 million, partly by cutting research and development costs.
"Over the past several months, we've taken a hard look at our business," chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber wrote to staff, according to Bloomberg. EA said it will help affected workers "in exploring other opportunities" within the company.
The backstory: BioWare, founded in 1995 and bought by EA in 2007, made hits such as Mass Effect 2. But recent games, including Anthem and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, disappointed, and EA cut the studio's staff sharply last year after Veilguard missed sales targets. Its Edmonton, Alberta, office will close.
What's the endgame? EA says it will "concentrate our efforts on fewer simultaneous, large-scale projects." It will keep investing in sports titles, Apex Legends, the next Star Wars Jedi game and a new Iron Man game, while RespawnDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and DICE collaborate on a new shooter — likely another Star Wars: Battlefront.
The product angle: EA also paused Maxis's Sims project code-named Project Lotus to funnel resources into another initiative, Project Evergreen. Its skateboarding game, skate., in early access since September last year, keeps running but with a smaller team to build what EA called "a healthier and more sustainable business."
The signal: The move reflects a wider industry contraction, with cuts and closures also reported at Microsoft, SonyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Ubisoft. What sets this apart is the loss of a storied RPG studio and the abandonment of Mass Effect — not just a headcount reduction — as EA prioritises its most commercially predictable franchises.
Read more: thenextweb.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
