Electronic Arts (EA) plans to lay off 400 employees, close its BioWare studio and cancel the next ‘Mass Effect’ game, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The layoffs will affect 3% of the US video game publisher’s workforce, including 50 employees at BioWare, the studio behind the popular ‘Mass Effect’ and ‘Dragon Age’ franchises.
In an internal letter, EA executives said the company reviewed its operations and decided to cancel several projects to reduce costs.
“Across our portfolio, we’re making deliberate choices to align talent and investments where we see the greatest opportunities for players and long-term growth,” they wrote.
EA will also cancel a planned game in ‘The Sims’ franchise, code-named ‘Project Lotus,’ while reducing the team developing the skateboarding game “skate.”
The company said it would continue investing in its sports games, “Apex Legends”, “Battlefield” and upcoming “Star Wars” and Marvel titles.
Founded in 1995 and acquired by EA in 2007, BioWare struggled in recent years with disappointing game releases and declining sales.
The restructuring follows EA’s $55 billion Saudi-led buyout in August, which took the company private and added $18 billion in debt.
