Mass Effect 5 Development Sparks Major BioWare Overhaul After Disappointing Dragon Age Sales

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Summary

  • BioWare is being restructured for the next Mass Effect game due to disappointing sales of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
  • BioWare employees are being moved to other EA studios, but layoffs are not expected yet.
  • Dragon Age: The Veilguard only reached 1.5 million players in 2024, below EA’s expectations.

As a gamer, I’m excitedly looking forward to the transformation happening at BioWare, where I’ve spent countless hours immersed in their epic games. It appears the next chapter of Mass Effect is in the works, and considering the less-than-stellar sales of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it seems we can expect some major shifts within the studio in the days ahead.

It’s clear that BioWare hasn’t been thriving in recent times. Their recent games like Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem didn’t live up to critical praise, and even Dragon Age: The Veilguard, after years of development, fell short of success. As per the latest news, Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet EA’s expectations, managing to attract only 1.5 million players in 2024, which is roughly half of what they had hoped for.

Based on the latest developments, Electronic Arts (EA) is reorganizing BioWare, as mentioned in a recent blog post penned by BioWare’s general manager, Gary McKay. In the article, McKay stated that BioWare won’t necessitate assistance from the entire studio at this point in development, leading to several employees being reassigned to other EA studios. This restructuring is intended to make BioWare a more nimble and focused studio moving forward.

EA Moves Some of BioWare’s Staff to Other Studios Amid Mass Effect 5‘s Development

It appears that BioWare may not be facing further layoffs at this time, as they underwent significant reductions in 2023, resulting in the elimination of 50 positions. More recently, Corinne Busche, the director of Dragon Age, has left the company. However, it’s important to note that her departure seems to be unrelated to The Veilguard’s performance, but rather due to a new job prospect instead.

It appears that the restructuring is logical since Dragon Age: The Veilguard seems to have been wrapped up following the recent update. Last week, this update introduced new user-friendly features and rectified some errors. It seems probable that further updates will be rolled out only if critical in-game issues are found.

In the future, BioWare is set to concentrate on creating the next installment of Mass Effect, an announcement that was made four years ago. This project is currently being headed by Mike Gamble and his team, who are reportedly working on it during its pre-production phase. The specifics about whether Mass Effect 5 will follow the Andromeda storyline, continue from the original trilogy, or introduce a new narrative altogether remain uncertain. However, there’s a possibility that some former employees may rejoin BioWare at a later stage to assist with development once the game has progressed further. At this point, Mass Effect 5 does not have a confirmed release date, and it seems unlikely that it will be available before 2027 at the earliest given its current status in pre-production.

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2025-01-29 22:44