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EA shuts down BioWare and cuts about 400 jobs, two months after its $55 billion Saudi-led buyout.

The next Mass Effect is canceled. EA hasn't said where most of the cuts land or what severance it will pay.

EA shuts down BioWare and cuts about 400 jobs, two months after its $55 billion Saudi-led buyout.
Stock photo. Photo by Alexey Savchenko on Unsplash

Electronic Arts is shutting down BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, and cutting about 400 jobs, roughly 3% of its workforce. EA told employees in an email Wednesday, Reuters reported. The 400 figure comes from a person familiar with the plans who spoke to Bloomberg News; EA hasn't given a total.

Who loses their jobs

About 50 of the cuts are at BioWare, which will close its studio in Edmonton, Canada, Bloomberg reported. GamesBeat reported "big cuts" on The Sims and Battlefield teams, and EA says its skate. team will shrink. EA hasn't said where the other roughly 350 jobs are, how many are in the U.S., or what severance it will pay. The memo, from EA executives Cam Weber and David Tinson, says the company will help affected workers look for other jobs inside EA.

"BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly," Weber and Tinson wrote, according to GamesBeat.

Why now

The cuts come about two months after EA went private in a $55 billion buyout by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, the investment firm run by Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law. Bloomberg reported the deal put about $18 billion in debt on EA's books.

What it means for players

EA canceled early work on the next Mass Effect. It hasn't announced a new Dragon Age game or said the series is over. Existing BioWare games stay in EA's catalog, and Star Wars: The Old Republic is made by another studio, Broadsword, so its team isn't affected, Newsweek reported. A Sims project codenamed Project Lotus is paused, GameSpot reported. EA says it will keep investing in its sports games, Battlefield, Apex Legends, the next Star Wars Jedi, and Marvel's Iron Man.

If you work at EA

Under the federal WARN Act, large employers generally must give 60 days' written notice before a mass layoff at a U.S. site. If you're handed a severance agreement, don't sign it on the spot: read our guide to layoff warning signs and severance.law's lists of agreement red flags and your rights if you're over 40.

Sources

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