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 focus shift.

On January 29th, IGN reported that BioWare, in its complete transition to Mass Effect 5 development, reassigned numerous developers to other EA projects. General manager Gary McKay explained this restructuring as an opportunity to "reimagine how we work" between development cycles, stating that the full studio's support wasn't currently required for Mass Effect 5. While many BioWare employees were successfully placed in suitable roles within EA, a smaller number of Dragon Age team members faced termination, with the option to apply for other internal positions.

This news prompted several high-profile BioWare departures. Editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trick Weekes, and editor Ryan Cormier publicly announced their job searches. Producer Jen Cheverie and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm also confirmed their exits. These departures follow 2023 layoffs and the recent departure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche.

EA's response regarding the impact of these changes remained vague, avoiding specifics on the number of affected individuals, potential layoffs, or remaining employees. They emphasized the studio's shift in focus from Dragon Age to Mass Effect 5, asserting that the current team size is appropriate for the current development stage.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the first new entry in the series in a decade, concluded its run last week with what appeared to be its final major update. The game's underwhelming performance, including the absence of post-launch DLC and a 50% shortfall in sales expectations (1.5 million players versus a projected 3 million), has been widely documented. Previous reports have already highlighted the game's development challenges, including layoffs and the departure of key personnel.

Meanwhile, EA confirmed that a veteran "core team," including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others from the original Mass Effect trilogy, leads the development of the next Mass Effect game.