Dragon Age Developers Reveal They’ve Been Laid Off After BioWare Puts ‘Full Focus’ on Mass Effect

Key Dragon Age developers depart BioWare following Mass Effect 5 restructuring.

On January 29th, IGN reported that BioWare had reassigned numerous developers to other EA projects, fully concentrating on Mass Effect 5. General manager Gary McKay explained this shift as a strategic "reimagining" of BioWare's workflow between development cycles. He stated that the full studio's support wasn't currently needed for Mass Effect 5 and that many employees had been successfully placed in suitable roles within EA.

However, a smaller number of Dragon Age team members faced job termination, with the option to apply for other internal positions. Several BioWare developers subsequently announced their departures on social media, including editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer Patrick Weekes, and editor Ryan Cormier. Producer Jen Cheverie and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm also confirmed their exits.

This follows 2023 layoffs and the recent departure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche. While EA didn't provide specific numbers regarding impacted employees, their statement emphasized the studio's refocusing on Mass Effect 5 with a team deemed sufficient for the current development phase.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the series' first new game in a decade, concluded its development last week with what appeared to be a final update. The game's underwhelming launch, including the absence of planned post-launch DLC, surprised fans. EA acknowledged that sales fell significantly short of projections (1.5 million players versus the anticipated 3 million), a shortfall of 50%. Previous reports have detailed the game's development challenges, including layoffs and the departure of key personnel.

Meanwhile, EA confirmed that a core team of Mass Effect veterans, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others, are leading the development of the next Mass Effect game.