Electronic Arts has laid off 50 team members at its BioWare studios in Canada. The news comes a few months after EA laid off 800 team members or about 6 percent of its total workforce.
In a post on BioWare"s site, the studio"s general manager Gary McKay stated the move was made to change its operations so it can become a "more agile and more focused studio." He added:
After much consideration and careful planning, we have built a long-term vision that will preserve the health of the studio and better enable us to do what we do best: create exceptional story-driven single-player experiences filled with vast worlds and rich characters. This vision balances the current needs of the studio—namely, ensuring Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is an outstanding game—with its future, including the success of the next Mass Effect.
The team members who are being laid off today at BioWare will be given an opportunity to apply at other EA-owned studios.
McKay also stated that the development of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, the next game in BioWare"s fantasy RPG series will continue. So far, BioWare has not offered much info on the game"s development nor has it revealed a release time frame for the game. McKay added that pre-production of the next game in BioWare"s sci-fi RPG series Mass Effect is also continuing.
He added:
As cliche as this sounds, there truly is never a good time to enact changes like this, but we trust that we have the right leaders and team in place with vision, passion, and proven track records to deliver world-class Dragon Age and Mass Effect experiences that our fans will love.
Earlier this year, EA shut down BioWare"s Austin, Texas team that was continuing to develop the MMO title Star Wars: The Old Republic. However, the team members from that studio will continue to work on the game as part of Broadsword Online Games.