EA lays off 400 employees and closes BioWare game-development studio

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Video game company Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that it will lay off around 400 employees, or three per cent of its workforce, and close BioWare, the studio behind the “Mass Effect” and “Dragon Age” game series.

According to an Engadget report on Wednesday (21 October), the decision to close the Edmonton, Canada-based studio came after two of its games, “Anthem” and “Dragon Age: The Veilguard”, failed to meet the company’s sales targets.

The closure means that the latest Mass Effect game, which was in the early stages of development, has officially been cancelled.

The sweeping cost-cutting measures follow EA’s decision to become a privately held company, which is now carrying US$20 billion (Rp361 trillion) in debt.

Amid the restructuring, EA confirmed that studios Respawn and DICE are collaborating on a new shooter, “Star Wars: Battlefront 3”. Meanwhile, EA Sports plans to revive the boxing game series “Fight Night”.