BioWare Moved Some Employees to Other EA Teams in Latest Studio Restructuring Efforts

BioWare’s General Manager Gary McKay shared a new studio update that follows EA’s recent disappointing financial report to announce some additional downsizing at the studio as they push ahead with work on the next Mass Effect game.

Published on the BioWare Blog, McKay refers to an announcement back in August of 2023 that the company would be laying off some employees, making some cuts, and otherwise restructuring to become “a more agile and more focused studio”. Since Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released back on October 31st, 2024, the next Mass Effect title is what we know the studio is working on going forward. The update reiterates that commitment, saying “a core team at BioWare is developing the next Mass Effect game under the leadership of veterans from the original trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others”.

However, in this still difficult industry, the news that follows that points to a continued and possibly even tighter restructuring. “We are taking this opportunity between full development cycles to reimagine how we work at BioWare,” McKay says. Noting that since this stage of development requires a leaner team, “we don't require support from the full studio” at this stage. He reveals that over the past several months, the team has been working to match BioWare employees with other jobs and teams at Electronic Arts that had suitable open roles.

It isn't explicit confirmation of layoffs, but we don't know how many employees they couldn't fit on other teams, so it might also be layoffs.  

Studios often do shed staff after a big release before bringing people back on again later when they ramp up development on another project or start working on DLC. With lower economic results than they had projected, it looks likely that “Today’s news will see BioWare become a more agile, focused studio that produces unforgettable RPGs” goes beyond that.