BioWare Downsizing as It Focuses on Next Mass Effect, Some Staff Moved to Other EA Teams – Push Square
GuestGuestLogin | Sign UpPush SquareGuestLogin or Sign UpStudio is in between “full development cycles”BioWare has announced it’s downsizing and moving “many” staff members over to other teams inside EA as it looks to streamline its workload following the shift in focus to the next Mass Effect instalment. Since the developer is no longer working on two RPGs simultaneously after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it is in between “full development cycles”, and so such a large team isn’t required at present.In a post to the developer’s blog, general manager Gary McKay said the restructuring is all about holding “ourselves to the highest quality standards”. A “core team” that includes veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy is currently making the next game, including “Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others”.McKay continues, speaking of the early stages the RPG is currently at: “Given this stage of development, we don’t require support from the full studio. We have incredible talent here at BioWare, and so we have worked diligently over the past few months to match many of our colleagues with other teams at EA that had open roles that were a strong fit.”By downsizing as BioWare looks to create the next Mass Effect entry, McKay states this will see the studio “become a more agile, focused studio that produces unforgettable RPGs”.Initially announced back in late 2020, the project has only just become BioWare’s main focus, as it’s spent the last few years finishing Dragon Age: The Veilguard, having turned it from a live-service effort into a purely single player RPG. Given the project is still so early in development, it would come as little surprise if the next Mass Effect doesn’t release until the next generation PS6 arrives.When do you think the new Mass Effect game will launch? Post your prediction in the comments below.[source blog.bioware.com]About Liam CroftLiam grew up with a PlayStation controller in his hands and a love for Metal Gear Solid. Nowadays, he’s found playing the latest and greatest PS5 games as well as supporting Derby County. That last detail is his downfall.Comments 26I feel like they’re trying to embellish it, but that this is totally due to Veilguard not meeting EA’s expectations. Really sad to see.Hope they knock it out the park with Mass Effect …I don’t want it to be the last mass effect gameMass Effect has ”Halo Syndrome” AKA it has sucked since the third game and basically not a single person from the original creative team is left.I have no hope for this game because I have been given no reason to have hope for this game.What a shame, Bioware games used to mean quality.Hopefully they’ve still got some of the writers behind Deus Ex and Guardians of the galaxy.Looking forward to this and the potential redemption it will bring for Bioware in… 2027?@LifeGirl Disagree with both the Mass Effect and Halo assessment. Halo ODST, Reach, and 4 I thought were great. ME Andromeda is also great; a very different tone from the trilogy, but great nonetheless.That said, Anthem and Veilguard were definitely disappointments.@LifeGirlnot a single person from the original creative team is left.A “core team” that includes veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy is currently making the next game, including “Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and othersMike Gamble was a Project Manager and producer on Mass Effect 2 and 3. Preston Watamaiuk was lead designer on Mass Effect, ME2 and ME3. Derek Watts was Art lead on ME1, ME2 and ME3. Parish Ley was a cinematics animator on ME, and Lead Cinematics animator on ME2 and ME3.I’m not even a Dragon Age fan really but I bought a copy of Veilguard just to support the studio in the hopes that we get the next Mass Effect. I love the series that much.Might I have been foolish? Probably if I’m being honest with myself. Regardless I’ll continue to hold out hope for Mass Effect to succeed. I’ll gladly don the N7 armor once again when the time comes.I suspect this is a very common practice at the bigger publishers; it just isn’t made public as often. Nothing to worry about here!Motherlovers are up for Anthem 2. Mark my words!@LifeGirl Completely disagree about ME3. Not only is it a good game, it’s actually amazing.About BioWare, it’s sad to see their state. They were once my favorite game studio. How far they have fallen.@Korgon same, in wrapping and all still. Hopefully others did the same to keep them afloat and we end up with a new ME in the next 2-3 years.@AlexPorto meh, the writing even if it was cinematic and interesting (sometimes and in bits here and there) if it was a movie script it would have fallen flat and probably never made or straight to Netflix. The character development and gameplay is what kept me involved in ME3 and the main reason it succeeded when it did.They freaking made a new ending after launch, if that doesn’t tell you how the story landed overall for the masses then your fooling yourself even if YOU like it.Mass Effect Trilogy is probably the best experience I’ve ever had while playing or watching something of any media. I like it so much that I’m terrified at starting over but I’ve been wanting to since I finished it for the first time, it really was something special that I doubt any team could ever replicate.That being said, I’m choosing not to have any expectations whatsoever, unlike many I did like Andromeda even if it was subpar compared to previous games, but I just can’t see them even getting close to what they were able to pull off with the trilogy.mass effect (1-3) is awesome . andromeda doesn’t existSo this Mass Effect is going to be the last new Bioware game then huh?I’m more surprised we are seeing so much Bioware talk rather than getting an investigation into EAFC 25 underperforming and being the main reason EA had to revise their earnings.@wildcat_kickz halo 4 was awful!@JustinTimberlake I thought Halo 4 was good but forgettable. 5 was straight up bad. Infinite clearly unfinished.Well DA cry babies just ruined their chances at a sequel. Sucks to be them.10 years waiting and still stuck to inquisition. Hope it was worth it.Surprised the new Mass Effect isn’t ready for a bigger team to work on; it’s been in development for a long time now.@JustinTimberlake hey, i think its better than 5 and has a better campaign than infinite, but that’s not saying much . i think all 343’s halo games are either bad to awful.Real Gamers: Really Bioware?! We definitely trust you now!Bioware: Really?Real Gamers: NoPersonally I think I’ll wait to decide once I see the character creator….The fact that EA cowardly abandons DAV without delivering DLC, patches and just general updates makes it almost impossible for me to trust the overall quality of the game.If their post-support is this half-assed, it reflects back on the game itself.I’ll get to Veilguard eventually, just have a huge backlog. It sucks they went with a young adults Disney tone for the new game, because Dragon Age lore might be the most interesting of any series, ever, to me. And part of the allure is just how extremely brutally dark it was. Like cosmic horror levels of death and destruction.Just a lot of missed opportunities. Tevinter Imperium sections of the game aren’t fleshed out, the Blight enemies look like Scooby Doo villains now, the dialogue writing is mediocre to outright awful depending on who you ask. Also homogenizing and simplifying the RPG elements isn’t cool with me. Can’t directly control your teammates. Lack of party control didn’t sit right with me for FFXV and it doesn’t for this game either. It all screams they were trying to appeal to a younger audience and forgot the original fans, from the ground up.I’ll still play it eventually to see what they did with the lore but I’m not rushing to go buy it. Or maybe I’ll just replay Origins. 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