BioWare's just waiting for the axe to fall after EA's $55 billion buyout, say anonymous staff

News
By published

"Kind of feels like a matter of time."

Taash stares, sorrowfully, off the screen in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
(Image credit: Bioware / EA)

EA went private in a Saudi-backed $55 billion deal earlier this week, and pretty much no one with a net worth south of $100 million is happy about it. Least happy of all? The staff of EA's myriad studios, who now have to wonder if their jobs are going under the guillotine to make Mohammed bin Salman and Jared Kushner's pocketbooks a little happier. With EA now on the hook for a $20 billion debt to JP Morgan in the wake of its leveraged buyout, frantic cost-cutting (and, joy of joys, AI) seems inevitable.

Especially worried are the staff at BioWare, which hasn't chalked up an unalloyed win since 2021's Mass Effect Legendary Edition and which hasn't chalked one up with an actually new game since 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition. In a chat with Insider Gaming, anonymous staff at the RPG developer sound like they're just waiting for the axe to fall.

"I’ve been doing it since last year, but I’m making sure I have a portfolio ready and feelers out for other jobs," said one source, who added that it "Kind of feels like a matter of time" before things turn dark for the studio.

(Image credit: EA)

With BioWare in the doldrums and the take-private deal anticipated to close in Q1 of FY2027, it feels like the studio's future is either a quick sale or complete closure—an ignominious end for a studio that was once the undisputed king of RPG development. Per one anonymous BioWare dev, "We’re going to keep working until they tell us we're done. It’s not the healthiest way to live, but as long as the paycheques keep coming, we’re not going to just walk away."

TOPICS
Joshua Wolens
Joshua Wolens
News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.