"Mass Effect 5 Development: BioWare Independent, EA Shifts Staff"

EA has announced a significant restructuring at BioWare, the studio behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect. The company is shifting its focus entirely to the upcoming Mass Effect game, moving several developers to other projects within EA. This transition comes as BioWare concludes its work on Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

In a blog post, BioWare's general manager Gary McKay explained that the studio is using the time between development cycles to "reimagine how we work at BioWare." He noted that, at this stage of the Mass Effect project, the full studio's support is not required. As a result, BioWare has been working to place many of its developers into equivalent roles at other EA teams over the past few months.

While an unknown number of BioWare developers have been reassigned within EA, a smaller group from the Dragon Age team is facing termination. These individuals are being given the opportunity to apply for other positions within the company.

BioWare has undergone multiple restructurings 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 IGN sought more details from EA about the impact on BioWare's staff, the company did not provide specifics. However, an EA spokesperson stated, "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."

The new Mass Effect game, announced four years ago, remains in its early development phase. BioWare is now prioritizing one game at a time, with some developers who had been working on Mass Effect previously moved to Dragon Age to complete that project. They are now returning to Mass Effect, which is being led by series veterans Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley.

This restructuring news follows EA's recent announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard fell short of its player targets by nearly 50%. This shortfall, along with weaker-than-expected results from EA Sports FC 25, prompted EA to reduce its fiscal year guidance. The company is scheduled to discuss its Q3 earnings on February 4.