Mass Effect & Dragon Age Developer BioWare Reportedly Hit With Layoffs In The Name Of Restructuring

by Muhammad Ali Bari

BioWare, the developer behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, has reportedly been hit with layoffs in the name of restructuring.

According to posts shared by multiple BioWare developers on LinkedIn and Bluesky, the studio has been hit with layoffs. This includes Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Lead Writer Trick Weekes, Lead Editor Karin West-Weekes, and Narrative Editor Ryan Cormier. Additionally, BioWare Producer Jennifer Cheverie Cott, Associate Game Producer Daniel Steed, Senior Product Manager Lina Anderson, Senior Systems Designer Michelle Flamm, and Editor/Writer Ryan Cormier have also been let go, while Senior Writer Sheryl Chee, who wrote characters like Leliana, Isabela, Blackwall, and Harding, has been moved to EA’s Motive Studio.

Bioware layoffs

Earlier today, BioWare General Manager Gary McKay shared an update on the future of the studio, in which he said that, after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. the studio is taking the opportunity between full development cycles to “reimagine” how it works.

On the surface, it sounded like a restructuring of BioWare’s development process. McKay mentioned that a core team at BioWare will continue to work on the next Mass Effect game, while the support of the Dragon Age: The Veilguard team would not be needed. According to him, several of these developers were accommodated in other teams at EA, which had open roles that were a strong fit. While there was no mention of what became of the rest, it’s now apparent that they were effectively laid off.

Recently, former Project Director and Executive Producer at Bioware, Mark Darrah, had also shared that many developers who worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard were transitioning either to the next Mass Effect title or to other EA projects for the time being, as the former is not ready to utilize the full team. According to him, BioWare is now operating as a single-project studio.

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