For those who were worried about the future of BioWare following the critical reception to Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it looks like the worst has come to pass. In the name of cutting costs, Electronic Arts (EA) will not only be shutting down the studio, but also cutting about 400 jobs, which amounts to around 3% of its total staff. This also includes roughly 50 people at BioWare, according to a source speaking to Bloomberg.
The report also cites a letter to staff by EA Chief Operating Officer David Tinson and Chief Studios Officer Cam Weber, which said “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 next Mass Effect game, which was already in early development at BioWare, was apparently not part of that alignment.
Gun And Ball Games Take Priority
Instead, the publisher’s execs said it will continue to invest in sports games, Apex Legends, and action-adventure projects. This includes an upcoming Star Wars title, and one for Marvel’s Iron Man. The report also noted that surviving studios Respawn Entertainment and DICE will collaborate on a new project, which is noted to likely be another entry in the Star Wars: Battlefront series. Similarly, the Battlefield series will also continue for now.
Another casualty was a planned game in The Sims franchise, code-named Project Lotus. The silver lining is that something code-named Project Evergreen will be prioritised instead. The skateboarding game that’s simply known as Skate will continue on as well, but the team behind it will be downsized.
Following a US$55 billion (~RM224.53 billion) leveraged buyout by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the process of which was completed back in August, EA is now a private company. Unfortunately, the process left the publisher around US$18 billion (~RM73.48 billion) in debt. The report notes that the company told investors earlier this year that it had a plan to save up to US$700 million (~RM2.86 billion), in part by cutting research and development costs.
The End Of BioWare’s Cold Streak
The shutdown also marks the end of BioWare as a studio in general, but also its cold streak. The studio has not caught a break since Mass Effect: Andromeda. While the game ended up fine, it launched with a lot of technical issues. You can probably remember the stiff facial animations that ended up the butt of many a joke.
This would be followed by Anthem, which was shut down earlier this year. Despite its potential, this was another game that would be marred by issues, this time far more than just technical. It would be notable for being a live service game being made by a studio that’s known for strong singleplayer stories instead, which may have contributed to its ultimate fate. Then there’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard to complete the three strikes.
(Source: Bloomberg)
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