BioWare confirms “many” staff moved elsewhere in EA as “core team” focuses on Mass Effect 5 in downsized studio – Eurogamer
Amid reports of potential layoffs.
Amid reports of potential layoffs at BioWare, studio general manager Gary McKay has confirmed “many” employees have now been moved elsewhere in EA following the completion of Dragon Age: The Veilguard – and that a remaining core team, which includes a number of now-confirmed Mass Effect veterans, is fully focused on Mass Effect 5.
In statement shared on BioWare’s website, McKay said the studio was currently “preparing for [its] next chapter”, with a “core team” lead by Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley now working on the next Mass Effect. However (reflecting comments made by former studio veteran Mark Darrah last week), McKay said the project is still at a stage that doesn’t “require support from the full studio”.
As a result, BioWare has downsized to what McKay calls a “more agile, focused studio”. And while no specific numbers were shared, the move appears to have impacted a substantial number of staff, with McKay saying BioWare has been working to “match many of our colleagues with other teams at EA that had open roles that were a strong fit.”
However, while McKay’s statement dances around any mention of layoffs, IGN reports a second group of BioWare employees also had their roles terminated but weren’t placed in new positions – EA instead giving them time to apply for new jobs within the company if they wanted to. The publisher failed to provide much clarity in a follow-up statement to IGN, saying it would not be “sharing numbers”, but that BioWare now “has the right number of people in the right roles to work on Mass Effect at this stage of development.”
Today’s BioWare studio update comes a week after what appeared to be Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s final patch, and follows EA’s recent admission the fantasy RPG had generated lower-than-expected interest. Mass Effect 5 (or whatever it’s eventually named) was confirmed to be in the “early stages” of development back in 2020.
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