BioWare closes its doors, new Mass Effect canceled

BioWare has been around for 30 years and since 2007, it’s been under Electronic Arts (EA), producing the same types of narrative rich games it strives to produce. But, in a, some would say not too shocking turn of events, EA has closed the studio for good and canceled the hotly anticipated new Mass Effect.

As confirmed on social media, the studio is no more, leaving all of its mainstay IPs — Mass Effect and Dragon Age — as well as ongoing projects like the new ME game, as well as the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake dead in the water.

Some would say it was bound to happen. As you probably know, EA has recently been bought by some notable investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). This brings the studio from publicly traded to privately owned, which means while it doesn’t have to wow investors anymore, it does have to consider profitability of the studios under it.

While BioWare has a decent track record of solid releases, the last handful have been divisive. Mass Effect: Andromeda was deemed a disappointment to fans, its attempt at live service with Anthem went nowhere, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard faced similar disappointment from fans. The shining beacon was Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, but that was largely just a repackaging of already well-loved games.

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger | Editor-in-Chief

Gabe has been a gamer since he was young, playing games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Guitar Hero, and whatever looked cool on GameFly. Ever since 2018, he’s been infatuated with the inner workings of the gaming and entertainment industries, covering a wide range of topics from video games to film and TV.