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Why did EA close BioWare? Report says it put Mass Effect 5 and Star Wars Battlefront 3 on a scale
EA has closed BioWare after reportedly weighing investment in Mass Effect 5 against Star Wars Battlefront 3, with the latter judged the safer commercial prospect. The decision matters because it ends the work of a long-running role-playing game studio and reflects EA’s tighter cost priorities after a Saudi Arabia-led buyout left it with $18 billion in debt.
Bloomberg reports that both games were expected to cost several hundred million dollars to develop. Battlefront 3 could build on a commercially successful Star Wars game and a major licence, while Mass Effect 5 would come from a series and studio that had struggled to match earlier success; EA also cited months of planning and changing business conditions in its statement.
In short
- EA reportedly favoured Battlefront 3 over Mass Effect 5.
- Both games were expected to cost hundreds of millions.
- BioWare’s closure followed an $18 billion debt burden.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
EA can argue that with substantial debt and limited capital, it had to prioritise projects with the clearest prospect of earning back investments of several hundred million dollars. A major Star Wars licence and a commercially successful predecessor may have made Battlefront 3 the more predictable choice, while the report describes weaker recent performance from BioWare and Mass Effect; EA also cited changing business conditions and months of planning.
The case against
Critics can argue that closing a long-running studio and ending its work on Mass Effect sacrifices creative expertise and the possibility of rebuilding a series with a committed audience. A safer forecast for Battlefront 3 is still uncertain, and choosing it over a more ambitious role-playing project may narrow EA’s portfolio while making short-term cost control outweigh long-term creative and commercial potential.
Explained simply
EA is a large video game publisher that owns studios and decides which projects receive funding. BioWare is a long-running studio known for role-playing games, including the Mass Effect series, in which players guide a character through a science-fiction story. Star Wars Battlefront is a separate series of action games based on the Star Wars films.
Developing major games can cost hundreds of millions of pounds, so publishers weigh likely sales against the cost and risk of each project. Mass Effect 5 would continue a series whose recent performance has been less strong than its earlier games, while another Battlefront could draw on an established game and the Star Wars licence. EA’s reported choice also comes amid pressure to control spending after a Saudi Arabia-led buyout left the company with substantial debt.
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