(Image credit: BioWare)

The writing was on the wall, but the news still hit us like a truck yesterday. BioWare, the iconic RPG studio behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, is no more. Development on the next Mass Effect has stopped, but EA might not be entirely done with the IP.

Variety reported, backed by EA’s own statement and BioWare’s goodbye on socials , that EA is laying off 3% of its global workforce and closing down BioWare. The shift comes shortly after the company went fully private this summer , with Saudi Arabia and private equity acquiring it alongside all its studios and properties.

A new Mass Effect game — meant to serve as a follow-up to the original trilogy — had been in development since the early 2020s, though progress was slow following severe downsizing after 2024’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet EA’s expectations.…