BioWare Gutted and Restructured After Dragon Age: The Veilguard Failure, Studio Tries to Assure Longtime Fans as Mass Effect Becomes Primary Focus

The fallout from Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s catastrophic failure continues, with BioWare now undergoing a massive restructuring that all but confirms the studio is being slashed to the bone.

In a post on BioWare’s official blog, studio general manager Gary McKay announced that the company is shifting its focus entirely to the next Mass Effect game—effectively sidelining Dragon Age after the latest installment’s disastrous reception.

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While McKay attempts to paint this as an exciting new chapter for BioWare, the reality is clear: Veilguard’s failure has forced EA’s hand, and the studio is now being gutted. Key staff are being shuffled out of BioWare and into other EA divisions, and while the statement avoids explicitly mentioning layoffs, the language strongly suggests that many developers won’t have a place to land.

A Studio in Crisis

“Today, we are turning towards the future and preparing for the next chapter in BioWare’s story,” McKay wrote. “As we announced in August 2023, we are changing how we build games to meet the needs of our upcoming projects and hold ourselves to the highest quality standards.”

Translation: Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed so badly that BioWare’s entire structure is being dismantled.

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McKay confirmed that a “core team” at BioWare is now dedicated to developing the next Mass Effect game under the leadership of veterans from the original trilogy, specifically naming Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley. While framed as a reassuring statement for fans, it also heavily implies that the team behind The Veilguard is out.

This includes the game’s director, Corinne Busche, who recently left BioWare for another opportunity. While Bush claimed the departure was voluntary, it’s hard to believe that after leading a game to such a spectacular commercial failure, this high profile exit didn’t come at the insistence of higher-ups.

EA doesn’t tolerate high-profile flops, and The Veilguard was just that—failing to meet even half of the company’s engagement expectations.

EA’s Financial Nightmare

BioWare’s restructuring follows one of the worst financial weeks in EA’s recent history. After slashing its revenue forecast due to Veilguard’s underperformance and EA Sports FC 25’s weak holiday sales, EA’s stock took a nosedive, plummeting nearly 20% over the course of two days. Investors are now openly questioning the direction of the company, particularly BioWare’s decision-making.

Prior to The Veilguard’s launch, internal projections suggested it would sell over 10 million copies in its lifecycle. Instead, it barely “engaged” 1.5 million players by the end of 2024. A game that many hoped would be a triumphant return for the Dragon Age series has instead become a cautionary tale of how far the franchise—and BioWare—have fallen.

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“Given this stage of development, we don’t require support from the full studio,” McKay said. “We have incredible talent here at BioWare, and so we have worked diligently over the past few months to match many of our colleagues with other teams at EA that had open roles that were a strong fit.”

McKay’s stated that many BioWare employees are being reassigned or matched to other EA teams, but at this stage, that likely means significant layoffs are incoming. When a studio is dismantled like this, there are always redundancies, and EA is unlikely to keep excess staff around indefinitely.

The DEI Experiment Has Failed

One of the biggest criticisms of Dragon Age: The Veilguard is its heavy emphasis on identity politics at the expense of quality storytelling and gameplay. Under Busche’s leadership, the game was marketed as a progressive reimagining of the Dragon Age universe, featuring an over-the-top focus on diverse character representation rather than the rich, immersive world-building that made the series a success in the first place.

Players pushed back hard, with many longtime fans feeling alienated by BioWare’s shift in priorities. Instead of delivering a deep, complex RPG, The Veilguard felt more like an ideological lecture wrapped in a game engine—one that failed to attract even a fraction of the audience EA had hoped for.

Now, BioWare is being forced to clean house, and Mass Effect—a franchise that still has significant goodwill with some fans—is their last chance to salvage what’s left of the studio’s reputation. McKay’s blog post makes it clear that EA is putting its faith in Mass Effect veterans to steer the ship, an implicit admission that the people responsible for The Veilguard can’t be trusted to lead the studio forward.

BioWare’s Future on the Brink

McKay closed his statement with what read like a desperate attempt at reassurance:

“Today’s news will see BioWare become a more agile, focused studio that produces unforgettable RPGs. We appreciate your support as we build a new future for BioWare.”

But for many fans, it’s too little, too late. The damage has been done, and BioWare is no longer the revered RPG powerhouse it once was. The studio’s future now hinges entirely on the next Mass Effect—and if it fails, BioWare may not survive at all.

At this point, the only question is whether EA will learn from its mistakes or continue doubling down on the disastrous trends that led to The Veilguard’s failure in the first place.

Do you think BioWare is making an effort to change? Do you have any hope for Mass Effect? Sound off in the comments and let us know! 

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