Electronic Arts to shut down beloved Canadian studio BioWare

Electronic Arts is shutting down iconic Canadian developer BioWare.

As first reported by Bloomberg, this comes as part of EA’s wider cuts of 400 jobs, including roughly 50 at the beloved Edmonton-based developer. It also follows EA going private in August following an acquisition backed by Saudi Arabia and other investors. As part of that deal, EA took on billions in debt, leading it to come up with a cost-cutting plan fuelled in part by cutting research and development costs.

BioWare confirmed the closure on social media:

https://t.co/TicSujMWps

— BioWare (@bioware) October 21, 2026

The studio had been working on an untitled fifth Mass Effect game, which Bloomberg reports was still in “early development” but has since been cancelled. BioWare’s last game was 2024’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which received generally positive reviews but did not meet EA’s expectations.

BioWare was founded in 1995 by University of Alberta medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. The studio went on to produce numerous beloved and influential RPGs, including the Dungeons & Dragons-based Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, as well as original properties like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. EA acquired BioWare in 2007, around the time of the release of original Mass Effect. 

However, the studio has struggled in recent years, with most of its original talent having left to join other studios. 2019’s Anthem, an original sci-fi Destiny-style multiplayer game, had a prolonged and troubled development cycle and ultimately underperformed. BioWare then spent several years working on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which was a similarly turbulent production. Over the past couple of years, EA had since laid off many BioWare staffers who hadn’t already left, leaving the famed studio a shell of its former self.

Image credit: EA