EA\u2019s COO David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber explained that they have taken a deeper look at the organisation, resulting in project cuts and job loss. <\/p>\n
Video game company Electronic Arts (EA) has announced plans to cut 3pc of its global staff, around 400 people, alongside plans to shut down BioWare, which is the platform\u2019s development studio responsible for popular games such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect.<\/p>\n
The next Mass Effect game is among the projects being discontinued for now, as it was in early development at BioWare. Reportedly, around 50 of the roughly 400 people being let go at EA are from the BioWare division.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Popular life-simulation franchise The Sims will also be impacted. \u2018Project Lotus\u2019 is being put on hold, with priority being reassigned to another Sims related development, \u2018Project Evergreen\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
EA said it has two major upcoming launches that are pulling focus, a new game based on Marvel\u2019s Iron Man and the next game in the Star Wars Jedi franchise.<\/p>\n
Over the past several months, EA has had to take a closer look at its business operations and what the future might hold.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a jointly published statement, which was shared with EA\u2019s workforce, EA chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber, said \u201cAs we focus on these larger opportunities, we\u2019ve had a small team at BioWare working on early-development for Mass Effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve made the decision not to move forward with this development, which means we\u2019re closing the studio and our Edmonton workspace. BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre and we do not take this decision lightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve challenged assumptions, confronted hard realities, imagined new possibilities and made deliberate choices in order to deliver exceptional experiences for our players and to drive sustained growth.\u201d<\/p>\n