EA reportedly shut down BioWare because it was forced to choose between Mass Effect 5 and Star Wars Battlefront 3

A new report has revealed that EA shut down BioWare because it was forced to choose between investing in one of two sci-fi projects: a new Mass Effect game or a new Star Wars Battlefront game. And he chose the latter solution.

The revelation comes from Bloomberg, who heard from “people familiar with the company’s strategy” that the “recent emergence” of an opportunity to develop a third Battlefront game meant that EA – a company saddled with $18 billion in debt due to the recent leveraged buyout – would have two sci-fi projects, each likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make.

It couldn’t afford to do both, so EA executives chose Star Wars Battlefront 3 because it was seen “as a less risky and more predictable gamble than a new Mass Effect,” Bloomberg reported – although development on the game hadn’t even started yet.

An EA spokesperson said the company “collectively made this decision after months of planning, review and analysis, including careful consideration of evolving business conditions, industry dynamics and our long-term priorities.” “While it is never easy,” the spokesperson continued, “we ultimately must make difficult decisions to focus our teams on the biggest opportunities for our future, including investing in new projects within our portfolio.”

The report highlights a few other factors that contributed to EA’s decision, including BioWare’s recent unfavorable track record and a reorganization of its executive ranks to include more people from EA Sports, in favor of those who defend BioWare. EA bosses even lamented Dragon Age: Veilguard’s sales, suggesting it would have been better if the title had been “a live service game”.

Last week, following news of BioWare’s shutdown and the cancellation of Mass Effect 5, an internal video from the project – known as Mass Effect Universe – was leaked, showing what appears to be a pre-rendered visualization of it. The game would take place 600 years after the Reaper War, in the middle of a galactic Cold War, and the player would be “a cross between John Wick and James Bond” in terms of what they would be capable of.

There was a promise of “Hitman-style freedom” in the levels to come, romance that “wasn’t sanitized,” and connections between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies. It’s unclear exactly how much work was done, but it’s clear that a lot of planning was done – far more, certainly, than was done on Battlefront 3.

EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 was released in 2017 and initially struggled to convince – partly because it was riddled with loot boxes. But years of adjustments and improvements have left it in much better condition.