EA to lay off 400 employees, shut down studio behind Dragon Ace

Electronic Arts (EA) is planning to cut around 400 jobs and shut down BioWare, the studio known for popular role-playing games such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect. The job cuts will affect about 3 per cent of EA’s workforce, including around 50 employees at BioWare, according to a Bloomberg report. The company is looking to reduce costs and focus its spending on projects it believes offer better growth opportunities.

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In a letter to employees on Wednesday, EA Chief Operating Officer David Tinson and Chief Studios Officer Cam Weber explained the changes. In the letter, reviewed by Bloomberg, they wrote, “over the past several months, we’ve taken a hard look at our business.” The executives added that the company would focus its resources on games and projects with stronger long-term potential.

EA’s restructuring follows its plan to save up to $700 million, which includes reducing research and development spending. The company also took on around $18 billion in debt as part of its $55 billion buyout in August 2026.

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BioWare was founded in 1995 and became part of EA in 2007. The studio is known for popular role-playing games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. However, it has faced challenges in recent years. Titles such as Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem received poor reviews. Its latest game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, also failed to meet sales expectations. EA had already made major cuts at the studio last year.

The changes will also affect EA’s future games. The company is cancelling an upcoming Sims project, known internally as Project Lotus. Furthermore, it is shifting its focus to another project called Project Evergreen. It will also reduce the team working on skate, its skateboarding game, while continuing development.

Despite the cuts, EA plans to keep investing in its sports games and the online shooter Apex Legends, according to the report. It will also continue work on the next Star Wars Jedi game and a new game starring Marvel’s Iron Man.

EA further confirmed that it would continue the Battlefield franchise, as per the reported memo. Its Respawn and DICE studios will work together on a new project, which could be another Star Wars: Battlefront game.

“Across our portfolio, we’re making deliberate choices to align talent and investments where we see the greatest opportunities for players and long-term growth,” the executives wrote.

The changes mark a major shift in EA’s development plans as it is trying to control costs and focus on selected game franchises.