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

BioWare, the renowned studio behind the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, has reportedly seen its workforce shrink to fewer than 100 employees following a series of layoffs and staff exits after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Bloomberg reported that the studio had more than 200 employees just two years ago, during the peak of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's development.

Last week, EA announced a restructuring at BioWare to focus exclusively on the next Mass Effect game, known as Mass Effect 5. This shift in focus led to the reassignment of some staff members who worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard to other projects within EA. According to Game Developer, John Epler, the creative director of Veilguard, was moved to work on Full Circle's upcoming skateboarding game, Skate. Similarly, Dragon Age: The Veilguard senior writer Sheryl Chee was reassigned to work on Iron Man at Motive.

The decision came after EA disclosed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had not met its performance expectations, engaging only 1.5 million players during the recent financial quarter, which fell short of the company's projections by nearly 50%. Bloomberg further noted that these staff reassignments to other EA studios are now permanent, meaning those employees are no longer considered part of BioWare.

In the wake of these changes, several BioWare developers announced their layoffs on social media. Among those affected were 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 another round of layoffs at BioWare in 2023, and the recent departure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche.

When IGN sought specific details from EA regarding the number of affected individuals, potential layoffs, and the current staff size at BioWare, the company's response remained non-committal. EA stated, "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 impacted by the recent layoffs. Jason Schreier, the author of the Bloomberg report, noted that BioWare staff considered it a miracle that Dragon Age: The Veilguard was completed, given the challenges including EA's initial push for a live-service model and subsequent reversal. IGN has previously documented some of the development challenges faced by Dragon Age: The Veilguard, including layoffs and the departure of several key project leads.

Amid concerns from Dragon Age fans about the future of the series, a former BioWare writer reassured fans, saying, "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, Parrish Ley, and others, is currently developing the next Mass Effect game.