“Approximately” 50 Staff Axed In Bioware Layoffs

Bioware has cut around 50 of their staff, including veteran talent behind games like Dragon Age Inquisition and more in a new round of company layoffs.

In an update on the Bioware blog, studio GM Gary McKay said they were downsizing their team to “unlock more creativity”.

“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”, he says.

Some of these staff include fan-favorite writers, such as Mary Kirby, who, among many other things, was also behind the dialogue for the character Varric in the Dragon Age series.

Kirby had taken to Twitter to say that she is looking for work.

“So. Hey, if anyone’s looking for a writer/narrative designer with kind of an absurd amount of experience, I’m available”, she writes.

According to McKay, EA is offering internal positions to the laid off staff, allowing them to work at the publisher’s other studios.

This news follows a string of high-profile departures in recent years at Bioware- in 2020, Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah had left the studio.

The years after would see multiple staff actively working on the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf leave, such as Matt Goldman, Senior Creative Director (2021) and Mac Walters, Production director (2023).

That being said, McKay says production on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is unhampered by the Bioware layoffs, despite firing approximately 10% of their staff (The company has 518 employees, according to LinkedIn).

Aside from that, McKay had also confirmed that the next Mass Effect is still in pre-production.

Join Us!