EA closes BioWare

Gaming · Heat 6.0 / 10 · 2 shows · 38m airtime

EA shut down BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, in late October 2026, 19 years after acquiring it in 2007. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier broke the news and describes a studio already cut from about 200 people to roughly 50 in January, after Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The discussion now weighs whether the closure was inevitable, EA's history of shuttered studios, and who carries BioWare's storytelling legacy, while a leaked Mass Effect 5 trailer is confirmed as real in-game footage set about 600 years after Mass Effect 3.

How 2 podcasts covered it

1. Triple Click, 2026-10-29 (3:20 to 13:00)
   Breaks down the closure with the reporter
   Breaks down the closure with the reporter who broke it: BioWare was gutted in January after The Veilguard, down from about 200 to roughly 50, and 400 total EA jobs went with it. Argues the studio's spirit lives on in Baldur's Gate 3 and CD Projekt Red rather than ending an era.
   New angle: BioWare was cut from about 200 people to roughly 50 in January, before the closure.
2. The Nextlander Podcast, 2026-10-29 (1:02:52 to 1:31:09)
   Adds Wintory's unused score and a real trailer
   Turns to the material that surfaced after the closure: Austin Wintory's 22-minute unused score pitch, and a leaked in-game trailer confirmed real, set around 600 years after Mass Effect 3. Notes the Amazon TV series is still on track.
   New angle: The leaked Mass Effect 5 trailer is confirmed real in-game footage set about 600 years after Mass Effect 3.