EA Closes BioWare to Back Star Wars Battlefront 3 Over New Mass Effect

Electronic Arts has closed BioWare, the studio behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect, and put its effort behind a third Star Wars Battlefront game instead of a new Mass Effect. Eurogamer reported the reasoning on 30 October 2026.

The plan first surfaced on 21 October 2026. Bloomberg reported that EA planned to cut 400 jobs as part of shutting BioWare down. Reuters reported the same day that EA was planning to close the studio and lay off staff. Variety reported that a new Mass Effect title had been cancelled.

Why did EA choose Battlefront? Bloomberg reported the decision by citing people familiar with the company's strategy. According to that reporting, an opportunity to develop a third Battlefront game recently came up, and that opportunity helped shape the choice. Executives saw Battlefront 3 as a less risky and more predictable bet than a new Mass Effect. Development of Battlefront 3 had not yet begun when Bloomberg reported the decision.

Money played a part too. EA carries US$18 billion in debt from a recent leveraged buyout, a purchase largely funded with borrowed money. Eurogamer reported that each of the two science fiction projects was likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make.

For Mass Effect fans, the practical result is clear. The series' next instalment is no longer in development at BioWare. For Star Wars fans, the Battlefront series now has a third entry on the table, though no release date has been reported.

For the roughly 400 people in the affected roles, the news arrives as a closure rather than a project delay. A studio shutdown ends the team's work on its games, and it is the people who work there who feel that most directly.

Battlefront 3 is the only one of the two sci-fi projects that has a stated route forward. Whether the other concept survives in any form has not been reported.