Why BioWare shutdown has enraged gamers and a Canadian politician has gotten involved

In another marquee event in the video game industry, BioWare announced this week that the company is shutting down operations. The video game developer was apparently in the process of early development for the next installment in the Mass Effect franchise.

BioWare was founded in 1995 and later purchased by Electronic Arts in 2007. In August of this year, EA was acquired by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. That likely played a role in BioWare's shutdown just two months later. It's yet another controversial development under EA's umbrella, as some fans continue to boycott many of their products for various reasons.

This latest move has struck a particular chord with gamers. Mass Effect was one of the most beloved video game franchises, with an incredible run from 2007 to 2012 delivering the three iconic entries in the lineup. BioWare later released Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017 to mixed reviews.

In 2024, BioWare released their most controversial title, Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Some of the game's themes and undertones didn't sit right with many fans, and the game ultimately didn't hit its sales targets despite strong reviews overall.

With an incredible track record spanning from Baldur's Gate to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic to the aforementioned Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises, BioWare would be a hot commodity if they were to continue operations. That reportedly won't be possible, as EA didn't want to let the employees keep the company for themselves.

The idea of BioWare shutting down has even triggered a political angle. The leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada, Avi Lewis, has proposed for the government to keep BioWare alive.

"This is private equity, this is what it does. Buy up businesses, run them into the ground, and rip them apart for short-term profit. The developers at BioWare know how to run the studio. They know how to make the games we all love. They should be given the first opportunity—and the federal support—to buy it and run it themselves. And if we want to avoid the Mass Effect effect in Canada, we should be keeping private equity out, not welcoming it in."

Gamers online were outraged once leaks came out of the details around the next installment of Mass Effect that BioWare was working on. It sounded incredibly promising, and fans of the franchise were dying to see it come to fruition.