Change was always in store for Electronic Arts after the company went private and its new owners saddled it with $20 billion in debt. EA announced several changes in the business on Wednesday, which include layoffs and the closing of Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare.
The studio has struggled in recent years Anthem (which closed earlier this year) and Dragon Age: The Veilguard did not meet sales expectations. EA, which bought BioWare in 2007, said a small team was in the early stages of work on the next Mass Effect game. However, it decided to cancel this project and to close BioWare entirely, along with its office in Edmonton, Alberta.
“BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing game genre, and we don’t take this decision lightly,” reads a memo from EA co-presidents Cam Weber and David Tinson.
— BioWare (@bioware) October 21, 2026
Overall, EA is laying off about three percent of its workforce, according to the report Variety – about 400 people. EA said it will help affected workers “explore other opportunities” within the company.
Among the studios that are losing workers is Skating Developer Full Circle. The memo says the game, which has been in early access since September of last year, has had “a lot of success” bringing in players. Nevertheless, EA is making “changes in the studio to have a more focused, smaller team to deliver on a very clear roadmap for our community that we believe will build a healthier and more sustainable business.”
At The Sims developer Maxis, EA is pausing development of what it calls “Project Lotus” to allocate more resources to another initiative called Project Evergreen.
EA also touched on what’s ahead for other studios. Together with working on Battlefield projects and Apex Legends (which has more multiplayer modes on the way), Respawn and Dice are collaborating on a new shooter. According to Varietyits sources, that will be Star Wars: Battlefront 3. Rumors this week suggested that several studios were in the running to make the game, including Bungie, but it appears that the series will remain within EA. Dice was the developer of the last two Star Wars: Battlefront titles.
Elsewhere, after all Marvel’s Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game, EA says it will “concentrate our efforts on less simultaneous, large-scale projects” in the action adventure space. As for EA Sports, this division is bringing back the Fight Night series, while the American football team is working on a “brand-new, social-first open-world experience.” EA plans to announce more details about these projects in the coming months.