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

BioWare, the renowned developer behind the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, has reportedly seen its workforce shrink to fewer than 100 employees following recent layoffs and staff exits. This comes after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard and a strategic shift by parent company EA to focus exclusively on the next Mass Effect game.

Just two years ago, Bloomberg reported that BioWare had over 200 employees while deeply engaged in the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. However, last week, EA restructured BioWare to concentrate solely on Mass Effect 5. As a result, several staff members who worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard were reassigned to other EA projects. Notably, John Epler, the creative director of Veilguard, was moved to work on Full Circle's upcoming skateboarding game, Skate, while senior writer Sheryl Chee was transferred to Motive to work on Iron Man.

The restructuring came on the heels of EA's announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had not met the company's expectations, engaging only 1.5 million players during its recent financial quarter—a figure nearly 50% below projections. Bloomberg noted that these staff reassignments have now become permanent relocations, with the reassigned employees no longer considered part of BioWare.

In addition to reassignments, several BioWare employees were laid off and have since taken to social media to announce their job search. Notable among them are editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trick Weekes, editor Ryan Cormier, producer Jen Cheverie, and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm. This follows a previous round of layoffs at BioWare in 2023 and the recent departure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche.

When asked by IGN about the specifics of these changes, EA provided a vague response, emphasizing that the studio's priority had shifted entirely to Mass Effect. EA did not disclose exact numbers but stated that BioWare now has "the right number of people in the right roles" to work on the next Mass Effect game.

Bloomberg reported that approximately two dozen BioWare employees were affected by the latest layoffs. Jason Schreier, the author of the Bloomberg report, noted that BioWare staff considered it a "miracle" that Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released as a complete game, given the challenges of integrating and then reversing a live-service model. IGN has previously documented some of the development challenges faced by Dragon Age: The Veilguard, including layoffs and the departure of several project leads.

Amid concerns about the future of the Dragon Age series, a former BioWare writer reassured fans, stating, "Dragon Age isn't dead because it's yours now."

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