Key developers behind the acclaimed Dragon Age series have announced their departure from BioWare following a significant restructuring at the studio aimed at concentrating efforts on the next installment of the Mass Effect franchise. On January 29, IGN reported that BioWare had reassigned a number of its developers to other projects within Electronic Arts (EA) as it shifts its focus entirely to Mass Effect 5.
BioWare's general manager, Gary McKay, explained that the studio is taking the time between full development cycles to "reimagine how we work." He noted, "Given this stage of development, we don’t require support from the full studio." McKay further stated that the studio has worked to match many of its colleagues with suitable roles at other EA teams, emphasizing the incredible talent within BioWare.
IGN has learned that while EA has successfully placed an unspecified number of BioWare developers into equivalent roles within the company, a smaller group of Dragon Age team members are facing termination. These individuals are being given the opportunity to apply for other roles within EA.
Following the announcement, several BioWare developers took to social media to announce their departures. Notable among them are editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trick Weekes, editor Ryan Cormier, producer Jen Cheverie, and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm, all of whom are now seeking new opportunities.
This news comes after BioWare experienced layoffs in 2023, and last week saw the departure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche. When questioned by IGN about the specifics of the impacted staff at BioWare, EA provided a vague response, stating, "The studio's priority was Dragon Age. During this time there were people continuing to build the vision for the next Mass Effect. Now that The Veilguard has shipped, the studio's full focus is Mass Effect. While we're not sharing numbers, the studio has the right number of people in the right roles to work on Mass Effect at this stage of development."
Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the latest entry in the fantasy RPG series and the first new game in a decade, concluded its development with its last major update last week. The game's launch was underwhelming, and BioWare confirmed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard would not receive any post-launch DLC, a decision that shocked fans accustomed to expansions in previous Dragon Age titles. EA later revealed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard fell short of sales expectations by 50%, achieving only 1.5 million players instead of the anticipated three million. The game's development faced numerous challenges, including earlier layoffs and the departure of several project leads.
Looking ahead, EA stated that a "core team" at BioWare, led by veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy such as Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley, is now focused on developing the next Mass Effect game.
