EA chose Star Wars over BioWare
The gist
EA closed BioWare after 31 years, cutting about 400 jobs and cancelling the next Mass Effect.
Bloomberg says a Star Wars shooter, not the RPG, drove the call.
How it unfolded
- Oct 21, 2026EA announced it was shutting down BioWare and its Edmonton, Alberta workspace, ending early development of the next Mass Effect project and cutting roughly 400 jobs, about 3% of its workforce, around 50 of them at BioWare.
- Oct 25, 2026Reports said BioWare closed after 31 years; it was founded in 1995 by Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip and acquired by EA in 2007 through VG Holding Corp.
- Oct 30, 2026Bloomberg reported EA closed BioWare mainly because it chose to back a new Star Wars multiplayer game over the next Mass Effect, following its $55 billion private-equity acquisition in August.