BioWare is reportedly now down to fewer than 100 employees after a round of layoffs and staff exits following the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard and a restructure to focus on the next Mass Effect game.
Bloomberg reported that BioWare was more than 200 people two years ago, when Dragon Age: The Veilguard was in the thick of its production.
Last week, EA restructured BioWare to focus on Mass Effect 5 only, meaning some who worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard were moved to projects at other EA studios. Game Developer reported that John Epler, Veilguard's creative director, was sent to work on Full Circle's upcoming skateboarding game Skate. Dragon Age: The Veilguard senior writer Sheryl Chee, meanwhile, was moved from BioWare to work on Iron Man at Motive.
The decision followed EA’s announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had underperformed on its expectations for the long-awaited action RPG. EA said Dragon Age "engaged" 1.5 million players during its recent financial quarter, which was down nearly 50% from the company's projections.
According to Bloomberg, these staff “loans” to other studios are now permanent relocations, and the staff working elsewhere at EA are no longer BioWare employees who were temporarily on assignment.
Others, however, revealed they were laid off and were now seeking work. Following the announcement, a number of BioWare developers took to social media to say they had been laid off. Editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trick Weekes, and editor Ryan Cormier all said they were looking for work, with producer Jen Cheverie and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm also confirming their exit.
BioWare already suffered a round of layoffs in 2023, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche announced her departure from the studio last month.
IGN asked EA for specifics on how many individuals at BioWare were being impacted by this latest change, how many face potential layoffs, and how many remain at the studio, but EA’s response was vague:
"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.
"While we're not sharing numbers, the studio has the right number of people in the right roles to work on Mass Effect at this stage of development."
Bloomberg said the layoffs affected around two dozen people at BioWare. According to Jason Schreier, the author of the report at Bloomberg, BioWare staff believe it was a miracle Dragon Age: The Veilguard released a complete game “after EA forced live-service into it, then reversed course.” IGN has chronicled some of Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s development challenges already, including layoffs and the departure of several project leads at different stages.
With Dragon Age fans now fearing the worst for their beloved series, one former BioWare writer said: “Dragon Age isn't dead because it's yours now.”
As for Mass Effect, EA said 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.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
