BioWare Lays Off Staff, Prioritizes Mass Effect

Key Dragon Age developers depart BioWare following Mass Effect 5 focus shift.

On January 29th, IGN reported a restructuring at BioWare, resulting in several developers being reassigned within EA to support Mass Effect 5. General manager Gary McKay stated the studio is "reimagining how we work" between development cycles and that the full studio's support wasn't currently needed for Dragon Age. While some developers were successfully transitioned to other EA roles, a smaller number of Dragon Age team members faced termination, with the option to apply for other internal positions.

Following this announcement, several prominent BioWare developers publicly announced their departures. This includes editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trick Weekes, editor Ryan Cormier, producer Jen Cheverie, and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm. These departures follow previous layoffs in 2023 and the recent exit of Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche.

EA's response regarding the number of affected individuals remained vague, stating that the studio is appropriately staffed for the current phase of Mass Effect 5 development. They confirmed that the studio's full focus is now on Mass Effect.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the first new entry in the series in a decade, concluded its development last week with a final update. The game's underperformance, falling short of sales expectations by 50% (1.5 million players versus a projected 3 million), and the lack of planned post-launch DLC, contributed to the studio's restructuring. Previous reports have already detailed the development challenges faced by the project, including layoffs and the departure of key personnel.

Meanwhile, EA confirmed that a core team of veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley, are leading the development of the next Mass Effect game.