BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard Team Shrinks to Under 100 After Layoffs

BioWare has significantly reduced in size, now reportedly employing fewer than 100 people following layoffs and staff departures after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Just two years ago, during the peak of The Veilguard's development, the studio had over 200 employees.

Last week, EA restructured BioWare to concentrate solely on Mass Effect 5. This shift resulted in some The Veilguard team members being reassigned to other EA projects. For instance, John Epler, the creative director for The Veilguard, was moved to work on Full Circle's upcoming skateboarding game, Skate. Similarly, senior writer Sheryl Chee transitioned to work on Iron Man at Motive Studio.

The restructuring came after Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet EA's sales expectations. The game reportedly engaged 1.5 million players during its recent financial quarter, a number that fell short of the company's projections by nearly 50%.

Bloomberg has clarified that these staff reassignments are permanent, and those working at other EA studios are no longer considered BioWare employees. Additionally, several BioWare developers announced their layoffs on social media, including editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer Trick Weekes, editor Ryan Cormier, producer Jen Cheverie, and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm.

BioWare had already experienced layoffs in 2023, and The Veilguard's director, Corinne Busche, announced her departure last month. When IGN sought detailed information from EA about the number of affected employees, the layoffs, and the remaining staff at BioWare, EA's response remained non-committal:

"The studio's priority was Dragon Age. During this time, there were people continuing to build the vision for the next Mass Effect. Now that The Veilguard has shipped, the studio's full focus is Mass Effect.

"While we're not sharing numbers, the studio has the right number of people in the right roles to work on Mass Effect at this stage of development."

Bloomberg reported that around two dozen BioWare employees were affected by the layoffs. Jason Schreier, the report's author, noted that BioWare staff felt it was a miracle that The Veilguard was released as a complete game, given EA's fluctuating direction on whether to incorporate live-service elements.

As fans of the Dragon Age series express concern over its future, a former BioWare writer reassured them, saying, “Dragon Age isn't dead because it's yours now.”

Looking ahead, EA confirmed that a "core team" at BioWare is working on the next Mass Effect game, led by veterans from the original trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others.