It Wasn’t Wokeism That Killed BioWare—It Was an $18 Billion Decision
Too woke for Twitter, too gay for BlueSky: theories about BioWare’s demise have been everywhere online. But according to Jason Schreier, the real reason comes down to two words: Star Wars.
In an investigation published Friday by Bloomberg, the journalist reveals that EA shut down BioWare after choosing to fund Star Wars Battlefront 3 instead of the next Mass Effect. The decision was driven by $18 billion in debt and a desperate need for predictable revenue while Respawn pushes ahead on Star Wars Jedi 3.
Image credit: Bioware / EA
EA picked Star Wars Battlefront 3 over Mass Effect
Jason Schreier sums it up with a line that quickly made the rounds on social media: “Twitter thinks the studio failed because it was too woke. BlueSky thinks Saudi Arabia killed the studio for being too gay. The real reason? Star Wars.”
NEW: Why did EA shut down BioWare? Twitter thinks the studio failed because it was too woke. BlueSky thinks Saudi Arabia killed the studio for being too gay. The real reason? Star Wars www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet…
— jasonschreier.bsky.social date
EA’s execs were faced with two massive sci-fi projects, each estimated at several hundred million dollars: the next Mass Effect, in pre-production since 2020, and Star Wars Battlefront 3, which hadn’t even started development. The choice went to the Lucasfilm license, handed off to DICE and Respawn Entertainment. Ironically, the Mass Effect team had already paused for two years to help finish Dragon Age: The Veilguard, pushing back a game that devs described as nowhere near ready. In a Star Wars universe where the Star Wars Zero Company controversy recently rocked the community while a DLC is already taking shape, EA is clearly betting on the Force, not on mass relays.
$18 billion in debt: the real reason behind the decision
To understand this choice, you have to go back to August 2026 and EA’s buyout by a Saudi investment fund. A colossal $55 billion LBO that took the publisher private—and saddled it with $18 billion in debt. Schreier puts it bluntly: “EA needs predictable annual cash flow to pay off its debt. A Battlefront 3 that ships on time is worth more than a Mass Effect that’s likely to be delayed again and again.”
The key word: predictability. A multiplayer shooter with the Star Wars brand checks every “safe bet” box—huge player base, proven monetization, manageable production schedule. An ambitious single-player RPG from BioWare is the exact opposite. As one Bluesky user put it, with chilling clarity: “The phrase ‘paying the interest on your debt’ is so sinister. Not paying off the debt—that’s literally impossible—but paying perpetual interest on money borrowed against the company’s own value.”
BioWare: a string of failures sealed its fate
Debt isn’t the whole story. BioWare had been racking up losses for nearly a decade. Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017, mocked for its disastrous facial animations. Anthem in 2019, a live-service trainwreck unplugged soon after launch. And Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024, which missed its sales targets by 50% despite decent reviews. Three games, three flops, and the same symptoms every time:
- Creative direction changes mid-production
- Constant headaches with the Frostbite engine
- A last-minute crunch culture dubbed “BioWare magic,” supposed to save everything at the eleventh hour
When the studio closed on October 21, only 50 employees remained. Internal politics played a part too: Laura Miele, who ran EA studios and championed BioWare and Mass Effect, was ousted in a 2026 executive shakeup. Her replacements, from EA Sports, had zero reason to protect a struggling RPG studio.
Mass Effect isn’t dead: the TV series lives on at Amazon
The game may be buried, but the franchise still breathes. A Mass Effect TV series is in development at Amazon, proof that EA isn’t letting this IP gather dust. The publisher has always been reluctant to sell off its properties—even the dormant ones. Meanwhile, fans aren’t giving up: there’s a petition, a Times Square billboard in the works, and an event planned for N7 Day in November.
EA bought BioWare in 2007 for over $800 million, driven by the promise of a Star Wars game—The Old Republic, which has since brought in more than $1 billion in revenue. Nineteen years later, it’s another Star Wars game that delivers the studio’s death blow. The irony stings.
