BioWare is reportedly laying off around 50 employees in the coming weeks, with the studio set to be gutted as part of a push for better agility and focus. The news was shared by Gary McKay, general manager at the studio, in a blog post detailing the impact of these job eliminations.
‘In order to meet the needs of our upcoming projects, continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard of quality, and ensure BioWare can continue to thrive in an industry that’s rapidly evolving, we must shift towards a more agile and more focused studio,’ McKay claimed. ‘It will allow our developers to iterate quickly, unlock more creativity, and form a clear vision of what we’re building before development ramps up.’
McKay described the process as ‘deeply painful and humbling’ and claimed BioWare would do everything it could to ‘ensure the process is handled with empathy, respect, and clear communication.’ The overall goal of these layoffs is reportedly to ‘preserve the health of the studio’ and re-focus on creating story-driven, single-player games – like the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, and the next Mass Effect.
Read: BioWare confirms layoffs as Star Wars MMORPG moves studios
Employees laid off will reportedly be aided in applying for new roles within BioWare parent company EA, although McKay has admitted it’s unlikely everyone will find a new role.
‘While this is an extremely difficult day for everyone at BioWare, we are making changes now to build a brighter future,’ McKay said. ‘Our commitment to quality continues to be our North Star.’
Notably, this is the second round of layoffs for BioWare over the last few months. In June 2023, the studio laid off a number of employees working on Star Wars: The Old Republic, as work on the long-running MMORPG moved to another studio.
The news also arrives in the wake of wider changes at EA. In March 2023, the company announced it would be laying off around 6% of its global workforce, in an effort to focus more on long-term sustainability.
Notably, EA has achieved strong results over the last financial years, with its FY2022 report revealing US $7 billion in revenue, an increase of 21% year-on-year. For the three months ending in June 2023, the company reported a 9% improvement to year-on-year revenue.
