One of gaming’s most influential RPG studios is closing its doors. Electronic Arts is shutting down BioWare and cancelling the next Mass Effect game, bringing a devastating end to more than three decades of development history behind some of the industry’s most beloved role-playing games.

BioWare confirmed the news on 21 October 2026, announcing that the studio is closing and development on the next Mass Effect project is ending. The decision comes as part of a wider restructuring at EA, which is reportedly cutting around 400 jobs across the company, including approximately 50 positions at BioWare.



In a statement, BioWare reflected on the games that defined its legacy, including Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age and Mass Effect.

“For more than 30 years, BioWare has been more than a studio,” the company said. “It has been a home for storytellers, developers, and the players who brought our worlds to life.”

The studio added that its immediate focus was on supporting its team through the transition, thanking the players who had made its games part of their lives.



The biggest blow for fans is the cancellation of the next Mass Effect, which had been in development since its announcement in December 2020.

Little has been shown of the project beyond brief teasers, including a mysterious trailer released during The Game Awards. BioWare had previously reassured fans that the game was still in development, with veteran developers from the original trilogy involved in its creation.

In November 2025, executive producer Mike Gamble specifically addressed concerns about the project’s future, insisting that EA and BioWare remained committed to telling more stories in the Mass Effect universe.

According to reporting by Bloomberg, the game was still in early development when EA decided not to proceed. This means fans will never see the version of Mass Effect that the team had been building, unless the project is revived in some form in the future. No such revival has been announced.

The cancellation also leaves the future of the video game franchise uncertain. EA retains the Mass Effect intellectual property, but there is currently no confirmed replacement project or development team.

Founded in 1995 by Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, BioWare built its reputation on story-driven RPGs that gave players meaningful choices, memorable companions and expansive fictional worlds.



The original Baldur’s Gate helped establish the studio as a major name in PC role-playing games. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic followed, before BioWare created two of its most recognisable original franchises: Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Electronic Arts acquired the studio in 2007, bringing its development teams into a much larger publisher. BioWare continued releasing major RPGs, but its later years proved considerably more difficult.

The multiplayer-focused Anthem failed to establish the lasting audience EA had hoped for, and the planned overhaul of the game was ultimately cancelled. Mass Effect: Andromeda received a mixed response in 2017, while Dragon Age: The Veilguard launched in 2024 to generally positive reviews but failed to meet EA’s commercial expectations.

BioWare had already undergone significant restructuring in January 2025, when it reduced its workforce and transferred some employees to other EA teams. At the time, the company said a smaller group of experienced developers would focus on the next Mass Effect.

That smaller team has now lost its project, with EA deciding to close the Edmonton studio where BioWare was based.

The closure does not mean EA is shutting down every franchise BioWare helped create. The company still owns the rights to Mass Effect and Dragon Age, although there are no confirmed plans for another game in either series following this announcement.

BioWare’s closure is part of a broader shift in EA’s development strategy. The publisher is reportedly cutting around 400 jobs, representing approximately 3% of its workforce. Alongside the BioWare closure, EA has cancelled a planned Sims project codenamed Project Lotus and is reducing the size of the team behind Skate.

EA says it intends to focus its resources on projects with greater opportunities for long-term growth. Its plans include continued investment in sports games, Apex Legends, Battlefield, the next Star Wars Jedi game and the upcoming Marvel’s Iron Man project.

The timing is also notable. EA completed a reported $55 billion acquisition by a consortium involving Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in August 2026, two months before the BioWare closure was announced.

The transaction was structured as a leveraged buyout, placing additional financial obligations on the company. While EA has not directly attributed BioWare’s closure to the acquisition, the decision arrives amid an intense focus on costs and investment priorities.

Around 50 BioWare employees are reportedly among those affected by the wider cuts, although the exact arrangements for individual staff have not been publicly detailed.

Original article on GLITCHED

Written by Marco Cocomello