Publisher Electronic Arts (EA) closed studio BioWare recently, cancelling their next developing Mass Effect project, and new reports suggest that the green light of another game was one reason for this. BioWare was shut down for a number of reasons, with many speculating that it was due to EA’s $55 billion buyout or the disappointing sales of recent games like Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Anthem. However, with petitions to save the Mass Effect series well underway, additional comments from EA suggest that Star Wars Battlefront 3‘s approval was the core reason BioWare’s sci-fi series got stopped.
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Inside sources at EA have all but confirmed the existence of Star Wars Battlefront 3 in the publisher’s post-buyout roadmap, with the game itself being made by long-time Battlefront developer DICE in partnership with Respawn Entertainment. One of EA’s recent statements following BioWare’s closure says “we ultimately have to make tough decisions to focus our teams on the biggest opportunities for our future,” suggesting that Battlefront 3 is more of that “opportunity” than Mass Effect 5 could have been. According to other sources from places like Bloomberg, the financial pressure from EA’s buyout forced them to choose between Battlefront 3 and Mass Effect, ultimately choosing the former.
EA’s Massive Debt Following Its Buyout Caused Them to Choose Star Wars Battlefront 3 Over Any New Mass Effect Game
Courtesy of DICE
The buyout of EA by Affinity Partners and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia has left the company around $18 billion in debt, no doubt leading to huge financial problems that the group will have to address for at least the next decade. When you pair this with the rising costs it takes to make any type of AAA game, it’s a surprise EA is making any new game at all. The 400+ layoffs associated with BioWare’s closure were likely a quick solution to cut spending costs on employee salaries, though this fate could have happened to DICE or Respawn as well. If the reports from Bloomberg sources are to be believed, BioWare being the target of financial recuperation was a direct choice by EA.
Mass Effect 5, which we have later learned to have been a project called Mass Effect Universe, had already taken up three years of pre-production at EA. Yet, both it and Star Wars Battlefront 3 would take more money to create than EA was willing or able to spend, leading to them cutting Mass Effect along with the rest of BioWare. There are several factors that may have led to this choice beyond just money, as changing leadership at EA could have played a part. At the same time, frustrating development problems with Mass Effect Universe may have already been happening behind the scenes, turning an initially promising project into something EA soured on over time.
This lack of confidence in Mass Effect and BioWare may also stem from EA’s changing tune to RPGs in general, as some sources claim that the publisher’s focus is now solely on “shooters and sports.” EA has probably determined a new Star Wars project as something more “safe” to invest in, rather than the original Mass Effect universe that is more niche. This decision makes sense when you consider the current executive level of EA and the trends taking place in the gaming industry, with other companies like Xbox and PlayStation cancelling projects, closing studios, and laying off developers in favor of “safe” projects.
Despite Bioware’s Shutdown, EA Still Plans to Move Forward With Other Non-Gaming Mass Effect Projects Alongside Battlefront 3
EA still has a live action TV adaptation of the Mass Effect games in the works, even with BioWare now shut down and unable to help with it at all. With Mass Effect Universe cancelled, this will likely be the last instance of the series, as it is already being erased from EA’s other gaming titles. EA remains the ones who hold the rights to Mass Effect, yet their choice to work on Star Wars Battlefront 3 will prevent the series from getting made by anyone in the near future. There is some irony to this, as EA bought out BioWare in the first place due to the studio’s success with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, one of the best RPGs of its time.
EA’s comments may state that they “collectively reached this decision following months of planning, review, and analysis, including careful consideration of evolving business conditions,” but players are understandably furious nonetheless. Whatever priorities EA wanted to focus on, Star Wars Battlefront 3 was a game that hadn’t even been approved yet, while Mass Effect Universe had dedicated development for multiple years. If the ease of investment was the biggest question, then one game had already been invested in, while the other hadn’t even become a clear idea. This is especially true when you consider EA shot down the idea of a Battlefront 3 after 2017’s Battlefront 2 almost a decade ago.
Yet, at the end of the day, the reason why BioWare was shuttered and Mass Effect‘s future left up in the air came down to EA choosing to support its next Star Wars project instead. The buyout, changing culture, and lack of faith in BioWare following their recently failed game releases were likely all additional reasons for this choice (despite EA being largely at fault for the failure of BioWare’s modern titles). For now, it’s unclear if Mass Effect will have any kind of future, with Star Wars Battlefront 3‘s green light being the stop sign for the series indefinitely.
What do you think about Battlefront 3 being approved over a new Mass Effect? Let us know in the comments below!
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