BioWare shut down: EA closes the Mass Effect and Dragon Age studio and cancels the next Mass Effect

BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, is closing after 31 years. Here’s what EA announced, what happens to the next Mass Effect and what it means for the games you already own.

Is BioWare shut down?

Yes. EA is closing BioWare and its Edmonton workspace, and BioWare confirmed the closure in a statement on Oct. 21, 2026. The statement thanks the team and lists the studio’s games, from Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights to Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Anthem. “What generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember,” it says.

EA’s letter to staff, signed by Chief Operating Officer David Tinson and Chief Studios Officer Cam Weber, says the decision followed a hard look at the business over several months. The cuts reach about 400 jobs across EA, about 3% of its workforce, and about 50 of them are at BioWare, the team that worked on the next Mass Effect. EA hasn’t published an official count.

The next Mass Effect is canceled. The next Mass Effect, often called Mass Effect 5, was in early development, and EA’s letter says the company decided not to move forward with it. BioWare first teased the game at The Game Awards on Dec. 10, 2020, and on N7 Day, Nov. 7, 2025, it said the team was focused exclusively on Mass Effect. The game never got a title, platforms or a release window. Our Mass Effect 5 release date page tracks what happens to the series.

The existing games stay on sale. Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the remastered trilogy, costs $59.99 on Steam, and it’s a single-player trilogy you can keep playing.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released on Oct. 31, 2024, stands as BioWare’s last game. EA said in its preliminary results of Jan. 22, 2025, that The Veilguard reached about 1.5 million players, roughly 50% below its expectations, and BioWare cut staff and moved its remaining team to Mass Effect after that. The Veilguard costs $59.99 on Steam, and our Dragon Age 5 release date page covers the series' future.

EA owns Mass Effect and Dragon Age and hasn’t said whether another studio picks them up. Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare’s online game from 2011, has been run by Broadsword Online Games since 2023, and EA’s letter doesn’t mention it.

Which other EA games are affected. EA’s letter names more changes. A planned Sims project is on hold in favor of another one, and the skate team gets smaller while development continues. EA sports games, Apex Legends, its Star Wars games, including the next Jedi game, Battlefield and the Iron Man game in development all continue, and Respawn and DICE are working together on a new project.

The closure comes months after a group led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners took EA private in a $55 billion deal, the largest buyout in gaming.

Doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip founded BioWare in Edmonton in 1995. The studio made Baldur’s Gate in 1998, Neverwinter Nights in 2002 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in 2003, and EA bought it in 2007, the year the first Mass Effect came out. Dragon Age: Origins followed in 2009, Anthem in 2019 and The Veilguard in 2024.

Knights of the Old Republic lives on outside BioWare: its remake is in the hands of other studios, as our KOTOR remake release date page explains.

This page is updated as soon as EA says what happens to Mass Effect, Dragon Age and BioWare’s staff.