Entertainment

Warren Spector Keeps Up Criticism of EA Over BioWare Closure, Now Naming Executive Pay

Vince MaglayaPublished just now3 min readBased on 7 sources
Warren Spector Keeps Up Criticism of EA Over BioWare Closure, Now Naming Executive Pay
Photo by Official GDC / CC BY 2.0

Veteran game designer Warren Spector has renewed his criticism of Electronic Arts over the closure of BioWare, and this time he named the yearly pay of the company's top executives.

In a LinkedIn post reported by Eurogamer, Spector said he remained unhappy about the shutdown. He said BioWare had hit him on an emotional level, and that he felt gut-punched.

BioWare is the Edmonton-based studio behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. On 21 October 2026, EA said in a post titled "Building EA's Next Chapter" that it had decided not to move forward with a development. That decision means closing the studio and its Edmonton workspace. Days later, Spector called the closure "utter bullshit" in comments reported by PC Gamer.

Spector rejected the argument that closing the studio was a sound business decision because BioWare's best years were behind it. He then asked a string of questions. Do people who create an environment that pushes studio-level talent out pay any price? Do executives who misread the market, over-hire, or back games that are underfunded, overfunded or poorly marketed lose sleep, or their jobs?

He also asked whether executives suffer the way developers do when the needs of financial partners and private investors come first. Is anyone in or near the top leadership team still willing to care? Is any accountability left at all?

The most specific part of his post is a list of pay. Spector gave these yearly payouts:

  • Andrew Wilson, EA chief executive: US$38.65 million
  • Laura Miele, EA president: US$13.7 million
  • Stuart Canfield, EA chief financial officer: US$11.3 million
  • Jake Schatz, EA chief legal officer: US$8.4 million
  • Mala Singh, EA chief people officer: US$8.3 million

Spector wrote that tens of thousands of developers, designers and other makers are out of work. He asked whether EA's executives think they are worth that kind of compensation.

He has also published a follow-up LinkedIn post that returns to EA and BioWare, reported by PC Gamer on 5 November 2026. In it, he argues that the phrase "EA closes BioWare" hides individual decision-makers behind a corporate logo. He wants the people who made the calls to be named.

EA has not been quoted in these posts. Spector's comments are his own, and they are aimed at the people who made the decision, not at the many staff who lost their work when the studio closed.

For players, the closure means a studio they have followed for years will not make another game. For the industry, the debate is about who answers for big calls like this one, and how. Spector has made his own view plain. Whether his questions lead anywhere is still open.

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