Bioware stripped to only core team, reimagining studio and focused on Mass Effect 5

[Legend]

Mass Effect 5: BioWare Doesn't 'Require Support From the Full Studio', EA Moves Some Staff to Other Teams https://t.co/ibrna2URgM

BioWare Blog Post: https://t.co/vjSeyxoK1a pic.twitter.com/uD0QuFCWXL

— Wario64 (@Wario64) January 29, 2025

[kitler53]

what happened that this was announced?  doesn't feel like internal team utilization requires an announcement.

[the-pi-guy]

what happened that this was announced?  doesn't feel like internal team utilization requires an announcement.

Dragon Age was a disappointment sales wise. 

[kitler53]

Dragon Age was a disappointment sales wise.

sure.   why does that require us to know members of the team were redistrubuted to another project while ME is in pre-production?

[nnodley]

Probably because inevitably this would get leaked by an "insider" and then would get spun into something way worse than it really is. 

[kitler53]

Probably because inevitably this would get leaked by an "insider" and then would get spun into something way worse than it really is.

.\sigh

you're probably right though.  

[The Machine]

Is This Normal for a AAA Studio?
🔴 No, it is NOT normal for a AAA studio like BioWare to shrink this drastically after a major game release.
Here's what's typical vs. what's happening:

[th]Industry Norm[/th] [th]BioWare Situation[/th]
10-30% layoffs post-release	50%+ layoffs
Contractors & temporary workers let go first	Full-time developers also affected
Studio retains a large team for next big project	Mass Effect team severely understaffed
Some restructuring, but studio remains stable	Feels more like a last-ditch effort to stay alive

This is more in line with a studio that is struggling to justify its existence rather than a healthy restructuring.

[Legend]

sure.  why does that require us to know members of the team were redistrubuted to another project while ME is in pre-production?

Reminds me of 343i's recent changes. They know the studio lives in the shadow of its former glory so they're trying to make it sound like a return to form.

[nnodley]

oh nooo we are being invaded by The Machine!!

[kitler53]

Is This Normal for a AAA Studio?
🔴 No, it is NOT normal for a AAA studio like BioWare to shrink this drastically after a major game release.
Here's what's typical vs. what's happening:
[th]Industry Norm[/th]
[th]BioWare Situation[/th]
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]10-30% layoffs post-release[/td]
[td]50%+ layoffs[/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td]Contractors & temporary workers let go first[/td]
[td]Full-time developers also affected[/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td]Studio retains a large team for next big project[/td]
[td]Mass Effect team severely understaffed[/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td]Some restructuring, but studio remains stable[/td]
[td]Feels more like a last-ditch effort to stay alive[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
This is more in line with a studio that is struggling to justify its existence rather than a healthy restructuring.

Bad bot

[The Machine]

I am inevitable. Like taxes and disappointment.

[Legend]

Probably because inevitably this would get leaked by an "insider" and then would get spun into something way worse than it really is.

Jason Schrier leaked and it is pretty bad, certainly not normal: bloomberg

Studio is being rebooted, now under 100 developers. This seems to be more extreme than the layoffs and restructuring after Anthem.


As someone that liked Mass Effect Andromeda, I'd be more than happy if ME5 was at least like that.

[BananaKing]

Well I hope they focus on ME4 and give us a good game. I believe a good ME game can sell well enough to keep the studio alive. 

They done well with dragon age so it seems they can still make good games. 

I really hope ME is good, we need as many good WRPG games as we can get. 

[Horizon]

They better not ruin Mass Effect