When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

BioWare staff being moved to other EA projects, leaving "core team" to work on Mass Effect

Mass Effect 5 teaser

Following its latest Dragon Age game's launch, BioWare confirmed that its full focus has been turned to making the next Mass Effect game. However, in a new studio update, BioWare general manager
Gary McKay today revealed that many of the company's staff are being moved to different positions at EA, leaving a "core team" to work on the next project.

"In keeping with our fierce commitment to innovating during the development and delivery of Mass Effect, we have challenged ourselves to think deeply about delivering the best experience to our fans," says Mckay. "We are taking this opportunity between full development cycles to reimagine how we work at BioWare."

A report from IGN adds that some positions have been terminated entirely as a part of this restructuring, though these staff are also being offered a chance to apply for other EA positions. EA had declined to give exact numbers of affected staff when asked for comment.

"Given this stage of development, we don’t require support from the full studio," continues the post from GM Gary McKay. "We have incredible talent here at BioWare, and so we have worked diligently over the past few months to match many of our colleagues with other teams at EA that had open roles that were a strong fit."

The team working on the next Mass Effect entry is being led by a number of veterans from the classic trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others. McKay added that the latest changes will help make BioWare "a more agile, focused studio." The company has been dropping hints about Mass Effect 5 for a few years now, but it's still in early development stages.

It was revealed last week that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had missed EA expectations by 50%, reaching only 1.5 million players since launch. The Veilguard's game director, Corinne Busche, also exited BioWare recently.

Report a problem with article
Netflix Season Download Button
Next Article

Netflix brings "Season Download" button to iPhone and iPad users

Spider-Man 2
Previous Article

Spider-Man 2 system requirements and PC exclusive raytracing features detailed

Join the conversation!

Login or Sign Up to read and post a comment.

2 Comments - Add comment