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BioWare announced the closure on social media Wednesday
following a report by Bloomberg that also said the company is
laying off 400 people, including about 50 at BioWare.
The Redwood Shores, California-based maker of popular titles
like “Battlefield” and “The Sims” closed the $55 billion sale of
its business to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF,
investment firm Silver Lake Partners and Affinity Partners,
which is run by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared
Kushner, in August.
Representatives for EA did not immediately respond to a message
seeking comment on the layoffs.
“What generations of BioWare built together is something to
celebrate and remember,” the studio said via social media.
“These games became so much more because you played them,
debated your choices, fell in love with characters, and made
these worlds your own.”
BioWare built its reputation on immersive role-playing
adventures, from sword-and-sorcery fantasies like “Baldur’s
Gate” and “Dragon Age” to science fiction epics like “Star Wars:
Knights of the Old Republic” and “Mass Effect.”
But its effort to branch out into multiplayer shooters, 2019’s
“Anthem,” steered away from the studio’s strength as a creator
of compelling single-player narratives. It failed to find the
sort of loyal audience that keeps online hits like “Fortnite”
and “Overwatch” humming.
Meanwhile the latest installments of its two most popular
original franchises — 2017’s “Mass Effect: Andromeda” and 2024’s
“Dragon Age: The Veilguard” — met with mixed reviews and
disappointed many fans. A new chapter of “Mass Effect” was in
development before BioWare announced its shutdown.
BioWare, based in Canada, was founded in 1995 and acquired by EA
in 2007.
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Associated Press Writer Lou Kesten in Washington contributed.
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