EA正式关闭BioWare工作室并裁员400人

It would appear that Microsoft isn’t the only one swinging its job-killing hatchet around. Electronic Arts has officially shut down the legendary studio BioWare while also laying off 400 employees, or around 3% of its workforce, with 50 devs at BioWare specifically affected by the firing round.

The closure was confirmed in a message on the studio’s Twitter account. “After more than three decades of shared adventures, BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending,” the post reads. “What generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember. These games became so much more because you played them, debated your choices, fell in love with the characters, and made these worlds your own.”

While most gamers will understandably remember BioWare for its single-player games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, us MMO fans of course attribute the studio to titles like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Anthem, and Neverwinter Nights, which was only recently highlighted for its still-active mini-MMO community.

According to a staff letter seen by Bloomberg, EA is redirecting most of its investments toward its sports titles, Apex Legends, the Battlefield franchise, and new Star Wars and Iron Man games. “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,” the letter reads in part.

Obviously SWTOR is still in operation and continues to receive updates thanks to the efforts of developer Broadsword, and Anthem had shut down at the top of this year. Even so, it’s a sad end to a storied studio despite all that has happened up to this point, and we can only express hope that the workers affected can find new employment soon and thank those responsible for such online worlds for their efforts.