BioWare Lays Off Dragon Age Team Amid Mass Effect Focus

Key Dragon Age developers depart BioWare following Mass Effect 5 focus.

On January 29th, IGN reported that BioWare has re-allocated numerous developers to other EA projects, concentrating solely on Mass Effect 5. General manager Gary McKay stated the studio is using the time between development cycles to restructure its operations. He explained that the full studio's support wasn't currently needed for Mass Effect 5 and that many employees were successfully placed in suitable roles within other EA teams.

While some BioWare developers transitioned to equivalent positions at EA, a smaller number of Dragon Age team members faced termination, with the option to apply for other internal roles.

Subsequently, several BioWare developers announced their departures via social media, including editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trick Weekes, editor Ryan Cormier, producer Jen Cheverie, and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm. These departures follow 2023 layoffs and the recent departure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche.

EA's response regarding the impact of these changes remained vague, stating that the studio now has the appropriate personnel for the current Mass Effect 5 development phase. They did not provide specific numbers regarding impacted employees.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the first new entry in the series in a decade, concluded its development last week with what appeared to be its final major update. The game's launch was notably devoid of post-launch DLC, a surprising omission for fans given previous Dragon Age titles. EA previously acknowledged that the game's sales fell significantly short of expectations, reaching only 1.5 million players instead of the projected three million. The game's development had already been documented as facing challenges, including layoffs and the loss of key personnel.

EA confirmed that a core team at BioWare, led by veterans of the original Mass Effect trilogy (including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley), is now fully focused on developing the next Mass Effect game.