BioWare is closing. On October 21, 2026, the studio behind classics such as Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: KOTOR, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect confirmed it’s shutting down after 31 years. This closes the door on 3 decades of great games, as well as the next Mass Effect.
This news seems to have landed with no prior warning. Fans, including myself, have been waiting on the next Mass Effect since its 2020 tease, and it’s hard to think anyone outside of EA saw this coming.
What Happened
The decision went out in an internal letter signed by Chief Operating Officer David Tinson and Chief Studios Officer Cam Weber. This all comes shortly after the new Private Investors from Saudi Arabia has taken over.
Additionally, according to the letter, a small BioWare team had been doing early development on the next Mass Effect. EA clearly has chosen to not continue that work. This means it’s closing the studio and its Edmonton office along with it.
The closure is part of a wider EA restructuring, and results in a cut of about 400 jobs total. Founded in Edmonton in 1995, about 50 BioWare staff are directly affected.
EA says it is shifting money towards franchises it expects to grow, while making fewer larger action-adventure games at the same time.
BioWare’s Goodbye
BioWare’s post on X was its own farewell letter and not a press release. Evoking a lot of nostalgie for me, the post runs through the studio’s library one title at a time. From Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights to KOTOR, Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Anthem. Most titles I’ve played and enjoyed, so it’s a bitter pill to swallow for me.
For now, the studio says its focus is on its team and getting each other through the transition. Closing the post by thanking players for arguing over their choices, falling for the characters, and making these worlds their own, the studio admits none of it was easy to write.
How We Got Here, And What’s Next
BioWare spent their first 15 years defining the role-playing game in the West, but unfortunately struggled in recent times for something to land. A legendary early run saw Baldur’s Gate, SW: KOTOR, the original Dragon Age, and the Mass Effect trilogy.
Unfortunately for them, later titles such as Shadow Realms (cancelled in 2015), Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017), Anthem (2019), and Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024) all fell short of what some fans and EA expected from the studio.
The one standout winner in recent years is the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a remaster of games the studio had already released. I personally have several play-throughs of each title.
As late as November 2025, executive producer Mike Gamble mentioned that work on the next Mass Effect was moving forward. This current work now seems all but dead.
These weren’t the only franchises taking a hit recently. An addition to The Sims franchise, code-named Project Lotus, was also shelved. EA mentioned that they were instead prioritizing a different venture, code-named Project Evergreen. The skateboarding game Skate will continue development, however there will be downsizing to the team behind it.
EA still owns Mass Effect and Dragon Age IP, so that doesn’t mean that Mass Effect is completely done for the future. Here’s to hoping we receive some good news in the upcoming years. For now though, the focus is on those who are without a job today. Our thoughts are with them.
