BioWare lays off 50 people, including experienced senior staff
BioWare is still marching forward as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf enters late-stage development and work on the next game in the Mass Effect series gets underway. However, studio general manager Gary McKay announced on Wednesday that they will be laying off 50 jobs in an attempt to be “more agile and focused”.
This comes following EA’s 200 layoffs from the Apex Legends QA team earlier in the year, and reports indicate EA is set to lay off roughly 6% of its staff by the end of 2023. BioWare’s cuts go deeper than one team though, as several senior members of staff have since announced on social media that they are available for work.
This includes senior writer Mary Kirby, writer for Dragon Age: Origins, which was released in 2009, and has remained with the company ever since. Similarly, Mass Effect 2 and 3 writer Jay Watamaniuk has announced that he was also a victim of the cuts.
Electronic Arts
In a blog post announcing the layoffs, McKay writes: “In order to meet the needs of our upcoming projects, continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard of quality, and ensure BioWare can continue to thrive in an industry that’s rapidly evolving, we must shift towards a more agile and more focused studio. It will allow our developers to iterate quickly, unlock more creativity, and form a clear vision of what we’re building before development ramps up.”
EA is doing more than cutting jobs though, as it has also cut ties with playtesting group, Keywords. An EA spokesperson announced that the company was unable to come to terms with the group, whose contractors voted to unionize in June 2022, so they will be letting their contract expire on September 27, 2023.
