Changes were always going to be in store for Electronic Arts after the company went private and its new owners saddled it with $20 billion of debt. EA announced some alterations to the business on Wednesday, which include layoffs and the shut down of Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare.
The studio had struggled in recent years after (which shut down earlier this year) and failed to meet sales expectations. EA, which bought BioWare in 2007, said a small team was in the early stages of work on the next Mass Effect game. However, it decided to cancel that project and close BioWare entirely, along with its office in Edmonton, Alberta.
"BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly," a memo from EA co-presidents Cam Weber and David Tinson reads.
Overall, EA is laying off around three percent of its workforce, according to — approximately 400 people. EA said it will help affected workers "in exploring other opportunities" within the company.
Among the studios that are losing workers is developer Full Circle. The memo states the game, which has been in early access since September last year, has had "a lot of success" with bringing in players. Still, EA is "making changes to the studio to have a more focused, smaller team to deliver on a very clear roadmap for our community that we believe will build a healthier and more sustainable business."
At The Sims developer Maxis, EA is pausing development of what it calls "Project Lotus" in order to funnel more resources into another initiative dubbed Project Evergreen.
EA also touched on what's ahead for other studios. Along with working on Battlefield projects and (which has more multiplayer modes on the way), Respawn and Dice are collaborating on a new shooter. According to 's sources, that will be . Rumors suggested this week that multiple studios were in the running to make that game, including Bungie, but it seems the series is staying within EA. Dice was the developer of the last two Star Wars: Battlefront titles.
Elsewhere, after and the next Star Wars Jedi game, EA says it will "concentrate our efforts on fewer simultaneous, large-scale projects" in the action adventure space. As for EA Sports, that division is bringing back the Fight Night series while the American football team is working on a "brand-new, social-first open-world experience." EA plans to announce more details about those projects in the next few months.