"Mass Effect 5: BioWare's Development Continues Amid EA's Staff Reallocations"

EA has announced a significant restructuring of BioWare, the studio behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect, shifting focus entirely to its upcoming Mass Effect game. In a blog post, BioWare's general manager Gary McKay explained that the studio is "taking this opportunity between full development cycles to reimagine how we work at BioWare." He noted that, at this stage of development, the full studio's support is not required for the Mass Effect project.

As part of this restructuring, EA has reassigned an unspecified number of BioWare developers to other projects within the company. A smaller group of Dragon Age team members are facing termination, though they are being given the opportunity to apply for other roles within EA.

BioWare has experienced multiple changes in recent years, including layoffs in 2023 and several high-profile departures during the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The most recent departure was director Corinne Busche, who left the studio last week. The current number of employees at BioWare remains unclear.

When asked for more details on the impact of these changes, EA did not provide specific numbers but stated through a spokesperson that "the studio's priority was Dragon Age. During this time there were people continuing to build the vision for the next Mass Effect. Now that The Veilguard has shipped, the studio's full focus is Mass Effect." The spokesperson added that BioWare now has "the right number of people in the right roles to work on Mass Effect at this stage of development."

The new Mass Effect game, announced four years ago, is still in its early stages. BioWare's strategy is to concentrate on one game at a time, with some developers who were working on Mass Effect previously moved to Dragon Age to complete that project and now returning to Mass Effect. The development of the new Mass Effect is being led by series veterans including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley.

This restructuring follows EA's recent announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard fell short of its player targets by nearly 50%, prompting EA to adjust its fiscal year guidance. This adjustment was also influenced by weaker-than-expected results from EA Sports FC 25. EA is scheduled to discuss its Q3 earnings on February 4.