EA has announced it is closing BioWare in its entirety, cancelling the next Mass Effect and ending both it and Dragon Age. The closure is the latest in a long line of studio shutdowns that trace back to the 1980s.
Some will blame the leveraged buyout by an investor consortium, which has put EA in $18 billion of debt, while others point to how BioWare has been mishandled for years. Despite its skill with role-playing games, BioWare's attempt to make a live service game with Anthem failed, as did Dragon Age: The Veilguard, making their position very precarious, especially as the new Mass Effect game never seemed to get off the ground properly.
History of EA studio closures
BioWare's fate was perhaps inevitable the moment it was sold to EA in 2007. The publisher's legacy is littered with closed studios; ones that were downsized, stripped of their assets, and eventually discarded as the company chased trends and higher profits.
Origin Systems, known for Ultima and Wing Commander, was forcefully pivoted into an online-only studio at the turn of the century, only existing to support Ultima Online before shutting down in 2004, 12 years after EA bought it. Bullfrog Productions, founded by Peter Molyneux and responsible for Populous and Theme Park, was acquired in 1995 but closed in 2001 due to a lack of major hits.
Maxis, the original creator of The Sims, was closed in 2015 after the disastrous launch of a SimCity reboot in 2013. EA later established a brand new studio in 2019 and gave it the same name. Westwood Studios, along with Virgin Interactive's North American operations and Burst Studios, were merged into EA Pacific in 1998, which was then absorbed into EA Los Angeles in 2003.
More closures and survivors
DreamWorks Interactive, rebranded to EA Los Angeles and then Danger Close Games, was shut down in 2013 after the poor reception of Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. Mythic Entertainment, creator of Dark Age Of Camelot, was merged into BioWare in 2009 and closed in 2014. Black Box Games, responsible for Need For Speed throughout the 2000s, was closed in 2013, with Skate languishing until a recent free-to-play reboot.
Headgate Studios, renamed EA Salt Lake, was closed in 2017 after shifting to casual games. Pandemic Studios, acquired in 2007, was shut down in 2009 despite being promoted as vital to EA's future plans. Visceral Games, founded as EA Redwood Shores in 1998 and known for Dead Space, was shuttered in 2017 after its Star Wars project was moved elsewhere and cancelled.
Still alive but uncertain
Several studios that might be assumed closed are still alive. Distinctive Software Inc., bought in 1991, is now EA Vancouver and works on yearly football and NHL games. Tiburon Entertainment makes American football and golf games. Criterion Software, bought in 2004, has become a Battlefield support studio. PopCap Games, bought in 2011, hasn't had anything new in years. Codemasters, bought in 2021, is still open, but EA announced last year it was calling it quits on making new rally games, and Codemasters didn't release a new F1 game this year.
