According to Bloomberg, EA shut down BioWare and cancelled the next Mass Effect in order to fund Star Wars Battlefront III. It also notes that Battlefront III has not started development yet.
In the article, Jason Schreier states the following:
“As they reviewed EA’s portfolio for the next few years, the company’s executives found themselves with two sci-fi action games that were each projected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars: Star Wars Battlefront III and the next Mass Effect title. They chose to invest in Star Wars and shut down BioWare as a result, said the people familiar, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Star Wars Battlefront III has not even begun development yet, but EA executives saw it as a less risky, more predictable bet than a new Mass Effect — and the publisher behind Battlefield has always been more comfortable with shooters than RPGs.”
Last week, BioWare announced that it is shutting down after over three decades since its initial formation. Furthermore, it has also revealed that it has cancelled development for the next Mass Effect game, which seemingly would have been titled Mass Effect Universe. The last update BioWare offered on the new Mass Effect is that it was in early development. In previous years, it has released new concept art on November 7, or “N7 Day.” A Mass Effect TV series is still in development at Amazon Prime Video.
In addition, Respawn and DICE are reportedly developing the next entry in the Battlefront franchise. The final entry in the Star Wars Jedi series, as well as the Iron Man game at Motive, are also in development. BioWare’s most recent and seemingly final game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
