There is no shortage of layoff news in the video game industry. It’s brutal to hear, and we hate to report on it. But if you recall yesterday’s report, BioWare’s comments seemed to suggest they were not laying off staff after Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Instead, they painted a picture that looked as if teams were being transferred around within the company.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise. We’ve reported on how it sounded like BioWare was just cutting down its development teams. However, IGN reported that not every employee was able to bounce to a new spot within the company. Instead, it looks like some employees announced their departure from BioWare, which again is a major blow, and they are now back on the hunt to find a new place within this gaming industry.
Unfortunately, we don’t have specific numbers right now that suggest just how many members within BioWare are being laid off from the company. Instead, a statement from EA to IGN only reiterated the previous reports. That being the previous comments on how BioWare no longer requires a large amount of staff to work on the next Mass Effect game. Rather, it looks like those who weren’t moved to a new position or applied for another role might have just been fired from the company. Again, we don’t know how many employees suddenly found themselves unemployed from EA.
With all that said, despite Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it’s hopeful that developers can deliver on the next installment of the Mass Effect franchise. Of course, right now, it looks like there’s just a small group of developers working on this project until things ramp up and more staff is added. That’s typically what happens when big AAA starts to head into full production. But again, we’ll have to wait and see what comes of the next installment to this beloved RPG series.