BioWare is closed by Electronic Arts ending their long history and resulting in 350 job cuts. BioWare closing results in a lost foundational RPG developer and a lack of home studios for major IPs. BioWare closing is a massive change in the gaming industry with fans and veterans reacting to the loss of a studio that shaped the role-playing genre.
Veterans claim EA never grasped the studio's core identity
Jennifer Hale and Mark Darrah industry veterans have stated that BioWare's core essence was never understood by Electronic Arts. Mark Darrah said that the acquisition was essentially an accident, where they were after Pandemic Studios and Knights of the Old Republic IP for MMO. EA was looking for Battlefront developers. Industry veterans say that the issues BioWare had stem from a fundamental difference between their creative essence and corporate strategy since the acquisition.
BioWare is closing as part of the company restructuring that includes a $5.5 billion EA buyout. Fans have created a Change.org petition with nearly 250,000 signatures so far and bought a times square ad. The intent is to push CD Projekt RED to buy out BioWare or at least key IPs like Mass Effect. CD Projekt RED has acknowledged that BioWare helped support The Witcher in the past, but they have not said that they intend to acquire them.
Jennifer Hale holds out hope that EA will sell them for better profit margins so that another studio can use the IP. She said that ownership might not have understood the full extent that BioWare means to their community. The full extent of the legacy of BioWare are the games that focused on player choice in role-playing. The closure of BioWare is a big hole in the role-playing sector of the market.
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