BioWare, the studio that worked on Mass Effect, has announced that it will lay off about 50 employees as a part of a “shift towards a more agile and more focused studio.” 50 employees would be about 20% of BioWare’s workforce.
In a statement written by BioWare general manager Gary McKay on the developer’s website, McKay explained that “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.”
McKay continued, writing, “To achieve this, we find ourselves in a position where change is not only necessary, but unavoidable. As difficult as this is to say, rethinking our approach to development inevitably means reorganising our team to match the studio’s changing needs.”
Regarding the approximately 50 that will lose their jobs, McKay said, “We are doing everything we can to ensure the process is handled with empathy, respect, and clear communication.
“We’ve chosen to act now in part to provide our impacted colleagues with as many internal opportunities as possible. These changes coincide with a significant number of roles that are currently open across EA‘s other studios.”
Although McKay says that employees affected by this announcement will be provided with assistance when applying for internal positions, he admits that not everybody will likely find a new job in EA or its studios.
McKay says that the restructuring is part of a “long-term vision that will preserve the health of the studio and better enable us to do what we do best: create exceptional story-driven single-player experiences filled with vast worlds and rich characters.”
The next Dragon Age game, Deadwolf is still in development and the next Mass Effect title is also still in development despite the layoffs.
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
