Mass Effect studio closure paves the way for beloved FPS return, at the cost of 400 jobs
Electronic Arts has shut down BioWare, the studio behind beloved gaming franchises like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
In doing so, EA has laid off around 400 people which means the next Mass Effect game is officially dead, though the live-action TV series is apparently going forward as planned.
It's a devastating blow to millions of gamers around the world as even if EA decides to hand the IP over to a new studio, it obviously won’t be the same.
However, for some, there’s a silver lining. Shortly after news about the layoffs broke, it was revealed EA has finally decided on a developer to bring back a beloved first-person shooter series.
Star Wars Battlefront 3 is seemingly happening and it’s in good hands
As reported by Bloomberg, EA confirmed that several internal projects are still moving forward, unaffected by the layoffs. This includes the next Star Wars: Jedi game and Marvel’s Iron Man.
It was also revealed that both Respawn and DICE will be teaming up for an unannounced project, and it doesn't take a psychic to predict that it’s Star Wars Battlefront 3.
Rumours from earlier in the week said EA was carefully considering a studio to lead the next Battlefront instalment, with Bungie being one of the candidates. We couldn’t think of anything worse.
We can sleep somewhat easily though as Respawn and DICE are undoubtedly the right teams for the job. It’s just a shame that we had to lose Mass Effect and Dragon Age in the process.
We’ve seen moves like this before from other companies. Xbox executed Order 66 itself earlier this year and in the carnage, Obsidian Entertainment was forced to shelve Avowed 2 in order to work on a new Fallout game instead.
The news surrounding BioWare feels like a similar story. EA cut out a talented team in order to supplement projects it has more faith in. In the end, you’ll likely get an amazing Star Wars Battlefront game, but will it be worth the 400 jobs lost in order to greenlight it?
What we know about Star Wars Battlefront 3
To put it simply, not much. Even Respawn and DICE probably only have a rough idea of what it’ll look like, but it feels like a safe bet to say it’ll once again unite every era of Star Wars.
We don’t know what the team looks like at the minute, but we do know ex-Star Wars Battlefront devs like creative director Dennis Brännvall have heard the news and are keen to work on the new game.
Finally, there have been plenty of Star Wars projects released since Star Wars Battlefront II that Respawn and DICE can now draw inspiration from. The live-action TV shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka will likely play a part, and depending on when the game is slated to release, Star Wars: Starfighter could inspire some brilliant space battle game modes.
Star Wars Battlefront 3 is going to be spectacular and I’m happy that it’s happening, but I’ll never forget what was lost in order to get it. BioWare deserved better.