BioWare Downsizes Below 100 Employees

The year is off to a rough start for BioWare, but most people did not realize just how bad the RPG legends have it right now.

Two days ago, studio General Manager Gary McKay published a blog post outlining BioWare’s plans for the near future. Many fans felt the wording was shakey, and ridden with euphemisms in an attempt to lighten the situation.

As covered in The Verge, things are approaching critical levels for the Canadian giant.

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The studio is said to have less than 100 active employees at the moment, which constitutes fewer than half of the BioWare staff levels reported in 2023.

The drastic downsizing is a mix of layoffs and reshuffles, with company veterans such as Dragon Age lead writer Trick Weekes finding themselves out of a job.

What’s Happening At BioWare?

A character shooting during a battle from Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Although BioWare employees have to bear the brunt, the downsizing reflects high expectations and a tendency toward low-risk endeavors by EA’s execs.

In October 2024, BioWare released Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The title was a refreshing change of pace compared to previous entries, pursuing a slightly cartoonish fantasy style that fits the story well.

Despite getting a warm critical reception of 80/100 according to OpenCritic aggregate data, some fans took issue with the level design and story.

Whether the fans overreacted or critics overrated the game is beside the point: according to EA’s preliminary results for Q3 2025, the game “engaged 1.5 million players during the quarter.” This number was approximately 50% lower than the company’s initial expectations.

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In the aftermath of the Dragon Age: The Veilguard sales, multiple BioWare team members were moved to other EA projects, first temporarily, then permanently.

The company’s development cadre is down to the team working on the future Mass Effect game, with tentative plans of expanding as production ramps up.

The string of apologetic press releases sent to investors regardless of the quality or long-term franchise-building prospects of the game in question is a red flag.

Publishers are promising investors the moon at the beginning of fiscal cycles, then spend the rest of the year saying they’re sorry while trying to fix things with massive layoffs and game cancellations.

This strategy works if your goal is to deliver short term gains, but while investors will happily just sell their shareonce they find a new shiny toy to play with, it is the developers that have to deal with the fallout.