EA is shutting down BioWare

BioWare, the legendary studio behind RPGs like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, is shutting down, the company confirmed in a statement. Alongside the closure, Electronic Arts has chosen not to continue development on the next Mass Effect game that was in the works, according to an announcement sent to EA staff. The company is also laying off around 400 staffers, Bloomberg reports, including around 50 at BioWare. The changes follow EA being taken private by an investor group led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners in a $55 billion deal that closed in August. Other major gaming companies have made sweeping changes this year as well, including Xbox’s “reset” that will include 3,200 cuts, Bungie’s “significant” layoffs, and Fortnite maker Epic Games laying off over 1,000 staff. “BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly,” Cam Weber, EA president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, EA president and COO, said in the announcement. For more than 30 years, BioWare has been more than a studio. It has been a home for storytellers, developers, and the players…