Key information
Electronic Arts has officially announced the closure of BioWare, marking the end of the studio after over three decades of operation. This decision includes the cancellation of the early development phase for the next Mass Effect project, as confirmed by the studio in a statement posted to X on October 21, 2026.
The closure follows a major acquisition of Electronic Arts completed in August 2026 by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake. This transaction resulted in 18 billion dollars of debt for the company, necessitating annual interest payments of approximately 1.8 billion dollars. To satisfy investors, the company reportedly committed to 700 million dollars in annual cost reductions.
Jason Schreier of Bloomberg reports that this restructuring will lead to the loss of approximately 400 jobs across Electronic Arts, representing 3 percent of its total workforce. This figure includes roughly 50 employees at the now-shuttered BioWare studio in Edmonton.
Moving forward, Electronic Arts intends to prioritize sports titles, Apex Legends, Battlefield, and licensed action-adventure games, such as future Star Wars Jedi entries and an Iron Man title. Meanwhile, the project codenamed Project Lotus has been paused or cancelled in favor of a new initiative codenamed Evergreen.
