EA shuts down Bioware Studios

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wangus12
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12:34p, 10/21/26
AG
EA is shutting down Bioware Studios amid layoffs. I was continously holding out some hope for another Mass Effect game that they had apparently shifted full attention on. Maybe I'll hold out hope that the IP gets sold to someone else.

Sucks. They made some of my favorite games. Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and the early Dragon Age games.

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TexAgBolter
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12:36p, 10/21/26
AG
Yeah, they haven't made anything good in a long time, but I held out hope for a new Mass Effect as the first 3 are some of my favorite games of all time.
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wangus12
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In reply to TexAgBolter • 12:44p, 10/21/26
AG
Anthem was the beginning of the end. EA gave them a blank check and no timeline and there was very little results from it. I guess we could see this coming. They haven't produced anything really good in more than a decade.

Even the most recent ME news was 5 years ago.

That said, the list of studios that get bought by EA and then destroyed is getting nice and long. Origin Systems, Maxis, Danger Close (formerly EA Los Angeles), Pandemic Studios, Westwood Studios, and now Bioware. Along with many more

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Claude!
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12:54p, 10/21/26
Very sad, but unsurprising. Since 2014, they've released: Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, and Dragon Age Veilguard. I don't believe any of those, except maybe the ME Legendary Edition, came close to expectations.

No doubt EA shares fault, but it doesn't sound like the studio was being well managed.
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FatZilla
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12:54p, 10/21/26
AG
Go Woke, Go Broke. They deserve it.
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YouBet
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1:05p, 10/21/26
AG
Shame but nothing last forever. Baldur's Gate I is what got me really locked in on gaming as an adult.
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StateofTexas
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1:24p, 10/21/26
AG
I loved Neverwinter Nights. RIP
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YouBet
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In reply to StateofTexas • 1:28p, 10/21/26
AG
StateofTexas said:
I loved Neverwinter Nights. RIP

Awesome game. I wonder if it holds up?
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rhutton125
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5:39p, 10/21/26
AG
My son Shepard will be very disappointed. Someday. When he plays the GOAT trilogy.

Maybe a good studio like Larian will get the rights someday.
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BadMoonRisin
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7:52p, 10/21/26
AG
KOTOR is GOATOR
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agdoc2001
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10:44p, 10/21/26
AG
Sounds like they really pulled a barve...
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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Artorias
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10:05a, 10/22/26
AG
End of an era, but not really surprising given they haven't had anything successful since 2014. The heart of the studio was gone when the original owners Ray and Greg left.
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rhutton125
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In reply to YouBet • 10:53a, 10/22/26
AG
YouBet said:
StateofTexas said:
I loved Neverwinter Nights. RIP

Awesome game. I wonder if it holds up?


This is like 15 years ago now but I played BG1 and 2 for the first time, loved them, then went into NWN and couldn't get into it. Maybe I was ready for something with modern controls.

Maybe we need a remaster, that'd get me to try it again.
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Claude!
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In reply to rhutton125 • 11:33a, 10/22/26
rhutton125 said:
YouBet said:
StateofTexas said:
I loved Neverwinter Nights. RIP

Awesome game. I wonder if it holds up?


This is like 15 years ago now but I played BG1 and 2 for the first time, loved them, then went into NWN and couldn't get into it. Maybe I was ready for something with modern controls.

Maybe we need a remaster, that'd get me to try it again.


Beamdog did a NWN update - not sure if it qualifies as a full remaster, but there was some modernization.
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YouBet
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In reply to rhutton125 • 11:51a, 10/22/26
AG
rhutton125 said:
YouBet said:
StateofTexas said:
I loved Neverwinter Nights. RIP

Awesome game. I wonder if it holds up?


This is like 15 years ago now but I played BG1 and 2 for the first time, loved them, then went into NWN and couldn't get into it. Maybe I was ready for something with modern controls.

Maybe we need a remaster, that'd get me to try it again.


BG1 is probably my all-time favorite game simply becasue of its influence, place in history, and CRPGs are my favorite genre.

However, I bought the remastered version on Steam last year and tried to replay it and it doesn't hold up well at all. It's just too dated. Made me kind of sad I attempted it.
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rhutton125
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12:09p, 10/22/26
AG
Yeah I think BG1 is half the game 2 is. I'll look into that NWN remaster though!
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AozorAg
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In reply to wangus12 • 12:37p, 10/22/26
wangus12 said:
Anthem was the beginning of the end. EA gave them a blank check and no timeline and there was very little results from it. I guess we could see this coming. They haven't produced anything really good in more than a decade.

Even the most recent ME news was 5 years ago.

That said, the list of studios that get bought by EA and then destroyed is getting nice and long. Origin Systems, Maxis, Danger Close (formerly EA Los Angeles), Pandemic Studios, Westwood Studios, and now Bioware. Along with many more


The last Dragon Age game was the nail in the coffin. Dragon Age and Mass Effect were BioWare's two biggest and most profitable IPs by a mile. They sat on Mass Effect for 10 years and did nothing with it. The last Dragon Age game had tons of woke gender crap in it that nobody asked for, which was just bizarre, and it lost at least $100 million. I figured the studio would either be gutted or shut down once the Saudis bought EA.

Too bad. I was really hoping for another good Mass Effect game at some point. Probably will never happen now.
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rhutton125
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In reply to AozorAg • 1:57p, 10/22/26
AG
Did Veilguard have anything that Inquisition didn't already have, though? Romances hadn't been tied to gender since DA2, so everyone is already bi. I guess there was a transgender squadmate in Veilguard but there was a peripheral transgender character in Inquisition, and that was game of the year (albeit, not a great year for games).

I guess that's it - a transgender character. BG3 is one of the gayest RPGs in years and it's pretty universally and critically praised, but I don't think there are any trans characters, so I guess that was a bridge too far. But more importantly, the story and gameplay weren't all that great.

Ultimately, I think it really boils down to:
1) EA, and their new private equity backers, have been shutting down studios left and right unless they're a reliable FIFA type
2) Bioware hadn't produced anything good in 10 years (Inquisition in 2014, anything sense has been panned)
3) They're still one of the GOATs when you look at their overall track record - probably the best western RPG company in gaming history
4) This sucks for anyone who worked there, and some beloved IPs that I hope will end up somewhere good.



The Mass Effect streaming series with Amazon is unaffected, however it's "an original story within the universe" and gives me zero confidence. The universe is incredible, but also, maybe just stick to the story that everyone wants to see?
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YouBet
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In reply to rhutton125 • 2:13p, 10/22/26
AG
I think the lesson here is that if the game around the gay stuff is good enough then one can absorb the gay stuff. Many games have simply gone out of their way to shoehorn gay stuff into the game because of politics or to make a point.

IOW, these devs need to remember game>gay and not gay>game.
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FatZilla
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3:25p, 10/22/26
AG
These idiots had a goldmine of IP and just ruined them. For gods sake remake KOTOR 1 and 2 with all cut content and add in more with a modern engine and leave out the woke **** and not turning it into trash action hack and slash with button mashing (Hi Square Enix, you *******s ruined FF7 remakes) and it would likely take game of the year if its not facing a juggernaut like GTA.


Instead, this is the trash they spent money on. It never was just "romance options" that broke the camels back.
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AozorAg
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In reply to FatZilla • 4:38p, 10/22/26
Not to mention letting you customize your character with "top scars" so you could have a trannie character who had previously chopped its boobs off. Super important feature that all of the gamers really loved.
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210
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In reply to FatZilla • 7:19p, 10/22/26
AG
FatZilla said:
Go Woke, Go Broke. They deserve it.

Isn't a lot of this cost cutting due to the Saudi/Kushner deal's debt?
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rhutton125
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7:45p, 10/22/26
AG
https://www.ign.com/articles/mass-effect-5-trailer-leaks-online-with-mass-effect-universe-title-reveals-returning-characters-and-much-more

Trailer leaked for ME5. I was way out on the idea of a sequel to ME3 (given the repercussions of the ending options) but even I have to admit this looked pretty decent. And now I miss my favorite franchise all over again.
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BadMoonRisin
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In reply to FatZilla • 9:05p, 10/22/26
AG


So ****ing bad. And they wonder how this happened. What a disgrace.



This dude, apparently, will never stop being wrong.
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BadMoonRisin
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9:17p, 10/22/26
AG
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AgSportsFan89
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6:07a, 10/23/26
AG
Kotor 1 &2, Jade Empire, Mass Effect 1 &2, and DA Origins were all in my wheel house. Bioware was easily my favorite studio in my teens. Damn shame what it had become.

After the utter joke Veilguard was, this was sorely needed. The talent was clearly gone and there was an infestation that needed to be purged.
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wangus12
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7:26a, 10/23/26
AG
I'll even say that Mass Effect Andromeda was still a lot of fun for me. The story was hit or miss, but it honestly had the best gameplay in terms of control and movement.

But everything I've heard about Veilguard seems like it was a disaster. Even the gameplay looked so bad.
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Fenrir
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In reply to YouBet • 8:53a, 10/23/26
YouBet said:
I think the lesson here is that if the game around the gay stuff is good enough then one can absorb the gay stuff. Many games have simply gone out of their way to shoehorn gay stuff into the game because of politics or to make a point.

IOW, these devs need to remember game>gay and not gay>game.

To add to this, I'd argue the origination of most issues that companies like this have is prioritized hiring individuals that match their ideal politics and social issue barometers instead of prioritizing hiring the most qualified individuals. Bioware in particular has had claims about this exact issue in the past.

It's one thing to have a story with elements that leans into "woke" territory, it's another to have a game that comes across as preachy, cringy, and has terrible gameplay elements.
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jr15aggie
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In reply to Fenrir • 9:13a, 10/23/26
AG
Quote:
To add to this, I'd argue the origination of most issues that companies like this have is prioritized hiring individuals that match their ideal politics and social issue barometers instead of prioritizing hiring the most qualified individuals. Bioware in particular has had claims about this exact issue in the past.


100% agree. I'll also agree that they had every right to do so. I do the exact same thing in my small business. Everybody in my office is a conservative male... we can tell offensive/racist/sexist jokes and nobody goes running to the BBB. No way would I ever hire a liberal uless they were a consultant/non office staff (even then I probably wouldn't).

But I'm not in the entertainment industry and doing a good job has NOTHING to do with our political/social beliefs. IMO the problem starts at the top. Never ever ever ever put a liberal/gay/trans person (especially if they are also a woman) in charge of a game studio if your target audience is men. You end up with a lame game that doesn't sell!
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Claude!
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In reply to Fenrir • 9:23a, 10/23/26
BioWare has included "woke" content in previous games that were successful (e.g. Inquisition), but the problem with Veilguard was how poorly it was presented. One reviewer said that it sounded like Veilguard was written by Human Resources, which is probably not what you want in epic fantasy.

But BioWare's problems went way beyond that. It seems like there was a ton of meddling from EA across most of their games, but not a lot of genuine oversight. Add to that BioWare's generally lack of effective project management, and you get a company that takes way too long and way too much money to make games that people don't want.
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jr15aggie
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In reply to Claude! • 9:35a, 10/23/26
AG
Claude! said:
BioWare has included "woke" content in previous games that were successful (e.g. Inquisition), but the problem with Veilguard was how poorly it was presented. One reviewer said that it sounded like Veilguard was written by Human Resources, which is probably not what you want in epic fantasy.


Well said. GTA has had a plenty of "gay" characters/NPCs in their games and nobody cares. I fully expect there to be more gay characters in GTA VI because this is a game based on open world realism and there are more gay people in todays world.

Nobody cares... until you try and shove it down our throats in cut scenes, side missions, main missions, etc. It's perfectly fine if you are making a "Deep thoughts at Starbucks" video game. But if your game involves guns, space marines, dragons... pretty much anything male fantasy related, you just can't do it!!!!
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YouBet
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In reply to BadMoonRisin • 9:38a, 10/23/26
AG
What game is this from so I know to avoid it?
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Fenrir
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In reply to Claude! • 9:39a, 10/23/26
Pretty much what I was getting at. Prioritization for gaming development has shifted from "how do we create this product we want" to "how do we get as many people we agree with employed". "Woke" content has existed for a long time but it mostly felt natural or made sense in the universe it's being applied to. So many things now just feel forced and like it's inserted in a scenario that it doesn't make sense and it destroys any sense of immersion.

Gaming development (especially at the AAA game level) has gone from a product made by relatively small groups of passionate and motivated people to a massive entertainment industry that has become bloated. They tell us that gaming development is so much harder and takes longer now but I'm not sure that's true, or at least that it's not a self-inflicted issue.

Go back 15-20 years and studios were pumping out games anywhere from 9 to 18 months while simultaneously creating and improving upon the game engines these games were built upon. Now we largely have a default gaming engine with pre-populated tools and assets and yet even more basic and smaller games take vastly longer to produce. I don't think it's that gaming development is harder or necessarily takes multiple factors more time and money (inflation adjusted) to produce, but that the entire industry has become so bloated and filled with people that don't actually produce viable code that gaming developers are paying some portion of people (who largely have been pre-approved as having the correct ideologies) to sit around and do **** all.

Elon cut 80% of twitter's staff and nobody noticed anything change in the product that the public interacts with. I doubt it's that different for gaming development in terms of how much waste is allowed to continue. It's basically just applying the Pareto Principle to gaming development (80% of the functioning product is made by 20% of the staff).
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jr15aggie
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In reply to YouBet • 9:45a, 10/23/26
AG
YouBet said:
What game is this from so I know to avoid it?

That was the latest Dragon Age game. I've never played any of them before so I was saved from this.
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Claude!
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In reply to Fenrir • 9:57a, 10/23/26
Agreed. Some of the delays are beyond the control of the actual devs. I've read that EA mandated shifts in focus (live services!) or tools (blow it up and use our in-house engine!) which would put BioWare behind. But a lot of the onus falls on the developers to build a game. Not everything needs to be GTA6.
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