Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the Canadian studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and has stopped work on the next Mass Effect game. EA told employees on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, and the studio confirmed the news in a farewell message to players the same day.

What EA and BioWare said

According to the staff memo from EA executives Cam Weber and David Tinson, which GamesBeat published in full, a small team at BioWare had been in early development on the next Mass Effect. EA decided not to continue that project, and as a result it is shutting the studio and its Edmonton workspace.

“BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly,” the memo said.

BioWare’s own message, reproduced by RPG Site, was just as direct: “BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending.” The studio thanked players and said its focus now is on supporting its team through the transition.

Part of wider cuts at EA

The closure is one piece of a larger restructuring. EA did not give a job count in its memo, but Bloomberg reported that about 400 jobs are being cut, roughly 3% of EA’s staff, including about 50 at BioWare, according to Video Games Chronicle.

The memo says EA will put its money and people behind its biggest franchises. It lists:

  • future Battlefield games and a joint project between Respawn and DICE
  • new multiplayer modes for Apex Legends
  • Marvel’s Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game
  • more focus on “Project Evergreen” for The Sims, with “Project Lotus” paused
  • a smaller, more focused team for skate.

Video Games Chronicle notes that the news comes two months after EA completed its sale to a group led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a $55 billion deal that took the company private. EA’s memo does not link the closure to the sale.

A long history ends

BioWare was founded in 1995 by Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk and was acquired by EA in 2007, according to Video Games Chronicle. Its role-playing games include Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age and Mass Effect, along with the online shooter Anthem. Its most recent release was Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024.

The next Mass Effect was announced in 2020, but EA showed very little of it after that.

What it means for players in Canada and the US

For fans, the practical effect is simple: no new Mass Effect is coming from BioWare. Neither EA’s memo nor BioWare’s message says what will happen to the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, or to games players already own, so the future of both series is unknown for now.

For Canada, the closure ends EA’s studio in Edmonton. EA says it will help affected employees look for other roles inside the company, and it plans to discuss its direction with staff at a Global Town Hall in November.