In a significant move within the gaming industry, developers BioWare have reportedly reduced their workforce to fewer than 100 employees after “around two dozen” staff were laid off. Many employees behind 2024’sDragon Age: The Veilguardwere either let go, or assigned to other projects by their parent company, Electronic Arts.
As reported byBloomberg,the disappointing response to their follow-up to 2014’s Game of the Year,Dragon Age: Inquisition,resulted in EA “missing sale expectations by 50%” with a total player count of 1.5 million.BioWare massively innovated the RPG genrefrom the late 90s to the early 2010s, from the earlyBaldur’s Gatetitles to Mass EffecttoStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The mediocre reviews for recent titles likeMass Effect: AndromedaandAnthemresulted in turbulent issues for the studio, andDragon Age: The Veilguard’smixed fan receptionescalated the internal struggles.
Over Half The Staff At BioWare Have Been Laid Off
Employees Were Redirected To Other EA Games
Bloomberg’s report revealed that just two years ago, the total workforce at BioWare was more than 200.However, after the layoffs and restructuring, BioWare’s staff has been slashed in half as less than 100 employees are working on the nextMass Effectgame.According to the report, several employees were redirected to temporarily work on other EA games shortly after the release ofDragon Age: The Veilguard, with Bloomberg mentioning games likeIron Manand theSkatereboot. These loans had then “morphed into permanent relocations”, which were allegedly received poorly by many of the staff members.
Dragon Age: The Veilguardreceived an 82 Metascore from critics, but only a 3.9 from users. BioWare’s previous game,Anthem, only managed a 59 Metascore and a 4.0 User Score.
The current plans for the Edmonton-based developers were revealed in a Studio Update, concerningthe development of the nextMass Effectgame.This was announced byGeneral Manager Gary McKay in a statement,confirming that “a core team at Bioware” will be working on the latest in the sci-fi series.This will be under “the leadership of veterans” who worked on the original titles, as McKay stated that “[BioWare]don’t require support from the full studio,” instead focusing on a small, but focused team of developers.
Layoffs In The Industry Are At An All-Time High
1 In 10 Gaming Developers Have Been Let Go In Recent Years
The challenges faced by BioWare aren’t unusual in the gaming industry, as they are indicative of a broader trend faced by many other studios and developers.As revealed by the2025 State of the Game Industry reportby the Game Developers Conference (GDC), 11% of developers were recently laid off and almost half of all developers have felt the impact of layoffs in the industry.Particularly, roles in narrative design were most affected, which will certainly affect BioWare, who predominantly craftpremium and complex narrativesfor their games.
Director Of Dragon Age The Veilguard Has Left EA & BioWare
A few months after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the game’s director Corrine Busche, is leaving BioWare and EA to work on a new project.
As iconic development studios are being shut down or restructured frequently by major publishers, the concerning report into BioWare underscores the difficult transition in modern gaming market dynamics.The upcomingMass Effectgame’s small development team will be focusing on crafting a high-quality experience that will capture audiences' interests,and not face closures like other EA acquisitions, such as Pandemic, Maxis, and Visceral Games.
