EA reportedly picked Star Wars Battlefront 3 over Mass Effect 5, sealing BioWare's fate

A new report offers an explanation for why EA shut down BioWare: the publisher reportedly had to pick between a new Mass Effect and a new Star Wars Battlefront, and it picked Battlefront. For players who were hoping the next Mass Effect would survive the studio's closure, it is a bleak answer. It comes from a news report, not an official EA statement.

What the report says

The account comes from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, and several outlets have summarized it. According to Push Square, the next Mass Effect game was cancelled and BioWare shut down because EA wanted to focus on a new Star Wars: Battlefront title rather than bring both to market.

Pure Xbox describes how that decision came about. Per Bloomberg, EA executives met to review the company's upcoming portfolio and were tasked with deciding which of two multi-million dollar sci-fi franchises to prioritize. They chose Star Wars Battlefront III and cancelled the new Mass Effect. Pure Xbox's headline calls the cancelled game too "risky."

Rock Paper Shotgun says the report points to that choice as the main factor in BioWare's demise, and adds that a couple of other factors likely played a part too. The summary we have doesn't spell out what those were.

Debt is part of the picture

GameSpot reports that the decision was driven by economics. Schreier reportedly wrote that EA had to choose between two costly projects, and that with the added pressure of paying off $18 billion in leveraged debt, Battlefront 3 made more financial sense. That debt follows EA's sale to a business consortium and Saudi Arabia's investment fund, according to GameSpot.

That lines up with what BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk said publicly. Eurogamer reports that Zeschuk called the closure "kind of sad" and said EA's leveraged buyout by a Saudi-involved consortium "was the final nail in the coffin." Zeschuk's comments and the Bloomberg report are separate pieces of reporting, but they point in the same direction.

What it means for players

Here is what the coverage says is going on:

• EA has shut down BioWare, a studio GameSpot describes as responsible for multiple hit games over 30 years.
• The next Mass Effect, which GameSpot says was tentatively titled Mass Effect: Universe, was cancelled.
• A new Star Wars: Battlefront game, referred to as Battlefront 3, is reportedly in development. GameSpot calls it unannounced, so there is no official confirmation from EA beyond what has been reported.

IGN summed up the report's takeaway bluntly: BioWare reportedly shut down because EA bosses chose to invest in Battlefront 3 over Mass Effect 5. PC Gamer frames it the same way.

Treat the specifics as reported rather than confirmed. What is clear from the coverage is that the new Mass Effect was cancelled and that a new Star Wars Battlefront is the project EA is reportedly backing instead.