BioWare Is Closing. I'm Sad, and a Little Hopeful.

On October 21, BioWare posted the news nobody who grew up on its games wanted to read. The studio is closing, and early development on the next Mass Effect is over. EA's memo to staff said the same thing in corporate language: it's closing the studio and its Edmonton workspace as it concentrates on fewer, bigger projects.

I'm genuinely sad about it. BioWare made some of the games that shaped what I think a game can be.

But once the first gut punch wore off, I landed somewhere I didn't expect. This might not be the worst thing that could happen to Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

What actually happened

The facts are short. BioWare's own post called it closing "after more than three decades of shared adventures." EA's memo, from Cam Weber and David Tinson, said a small team at BioWare had been working on early development for Mass Effect, and EA decided not to move forward. "BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly."

Bloomberg reported about 400 jobs cut across EA, roughly 3% of its staff, including around 50 at BioWare. It comes about two months after EA's $55 billion take-private deal closed. The next Mass Effect was first announced in 2020. It never shipped.

The last BioWare game was Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024. It got mostly positive reviews, but in January 2025 EA said it had engaged about 1.5 million players in its launch quarter, nearly 50% below what the company expected. You don't need to be a games analyst to connect those dots.

Why it still hurts

For me, Mass Effect was really about freedom. You played it your way. You customized your squad and built up your companions over time. You drove the Mako across planets nobody had mapped, and then you came back to the Normandy, which somehow felt like home.

That last part is hard to explain to anyone who didn't play it. A ship is a menu screen in most games. In Mass Effect it was the place you walked around between missions, checked on your crew and got ready for whatever came next. It felt lived in.

That's what's ending today, at least under the BioWare name. A lot of people are losing their jobs, and those are the people I feel worst for.

The people who made it great were already gone

Here's the honest part. The BioWare that made the games I loved hasn't really existed for years.

The founders, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, the doctors who started the place, retired from BioWare and from games in 2012. Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider left in 2016. Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw left in 2017. Mass Effect lead writer Drew Karpyshyn left in 2012, came back, then left again in 2018. Casey Hudson, BioWare's general manager and a longtime Mass Effect lead, and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah both retired from the studio in December 2020. Longtime Mass Effect writer Mac Walters left at the end of 2022.

That isn't a knock on the people who stayed or came after. Shipping a game that size is brutal, and they kept the lights on through some rough years. But the voices behind the originals had moved on long before EA made today's call.

So in a way, I already said goodbye to the BioWare I grew up with. Today just made it official.

Why I'm a little hopeful

Nothing in EA's announcement says what happens to Mass Effect or Dragon Age next. EA still owns them, and right now they don't have a studio.

That's the part that gives me some hope. Maybe down the road EA licenses them out, or sells them, or lets someone pitch something new. And maybe that someone grew up on these games the same way I did.

We've seen something like this before. Baldur's Gate started at BioWare in 1998, and the most recent one, Baldur's Gate 3, was made by Larian. A beloved series in new hands, built by people who clearly loved the originals, can turn out beautiful.

If that happens with Mass Effect, here's what I'd want. Bring back the freedom. Let me build my squad and grow my companions. Give me a rover and a planet worth exploring. And above all, give me a ship that feels like home again.

What could go wrong

EA might just sit on them. Plenty of loved franchises sit in a vault for a decade or more.

New hands don't guarantee good games. A studio that only copies the look will miss what made these games work.

Remasters aren't the same thing. I'd play a polished re-release, but I'd rather see someone take a real swing.

None of that changes the hope. It just means fans should keep being loud about what they loved.

So, who knows?

I'm sad tonight. A studio that meant a lot to a lot of people is gone, and a whole team is looking for work.

But the worlds BioWare built aren't going anywhere. Someday someone might get their hands on Mass Effect or Dragon Age and turn out something beautiful.

Who knows? I'll be first in line to take the Normandy out again.