It's been a while since we've heard any official news from BioWare on either Dragon Age: Dreadowlf or the next Mass Effect, but today's announcement is something that no one enjoys seeing. BioWare has officially announced that 50 people that were currently working on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf are being laid off, with the reasoning behind the move explained as the studio trying to become "more agile and more focused".
This announcement came on the official BioWare website, and explains that the layoffs are also part of a goal to "preserve the health of the studio". BioWare explains that the people affected by these layoffs are being offered as many internal opportunities as possible, and are being urged to apply for "a significant number of roles" across all of EA's other studios. However, not all of the 50 workers will find a new role within the company.
"In order to meet the needs of our upcoming projects, continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard of quality, and ensure BioWare can continue to thrive in ❀an industry that’s rapidly evolving, we must shift towards a more agile and more focused studio," explains BioWare general manager Gary McKay.
"As part of this transition, we are eliminating approximately ﷺ50 roles at BioWare. That is deeply painful and humbling to write. We are doing everything we can to 𒐪ensure the process is handled with empathy, respect, and clear communication."
Mckay was also very quick to explain how these layoffs will impact the development of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, explaining that the team's "dedication to the game has never wavered" and that BioWare is "confident" it will have the time to ensure the game meets its full potential despite the reduction in its workforce. It's also explained that none of BioWare's leadership is changing at this moment in time, and that a veteran team led by Mike Gamble is still hard at work on the next Mass Effect game that's currently in the pre-production phase.
On a potentially related note, it was also recently confirmed by EA that it will not be renewing its contract with support studio Keywords, one of a handful of devs whose 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:playtesters voted to unionize back in 20꧑22. EA has stated that it will be letting the current contract expire on September 27, which will undoubtedly be a massive blow to those working at the studio. The reason why is unclear, but an industry source (thanks ) claims that EA and Keywords couldn't come to an agreement over contracts as they exceeded what was needed.