Electronic Arts chose to pursue Star Wars Battlefront 3 instead of continuing the next Mass Effect, and that decision became a major factor in BioWare’s closure, according to reporting from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.
Schreier reports that EA executives were weighing two costly science-fiction projects, each expected to require hundreds of millions of dollars. The company reportedly viewed a new Battlefront as the less risky and more predictable investment, while Mass Effect would likely take longer and face a less certain development path.
That connection has not been officially confirmed by EA. In its October 21 company announcement, EA said it had decided not to continue BioWare’s early-development Mass Effect project and would close the studio and its Edmonton workspace. The publisher also confirmed that DICE and Respawn Entertainment will collaborate on an unnamed future shooter project, but it did not identify that game as Battlefront 3.
Schreier’s reporting fills in the gap between those announcements. He says the DICE-Respawn project is Star Wars Battlefront 3 and that development has not yet started. That makes the choice especially striking: EA reportedly prioritized a licensed shooter still at the planning stage over a Mass Effect project that was already underway.
The report follows our previous coverage of the DICE and Respawn collaboration, which was initially linked to Battlefront 3 through separate reporting. It also arrives as fans continue to campaign for the RPG series after the Save Mass Effect petition passed 200,000 signatures.
EA’s public position remains narrower than the reported account: BioWare is closed, the next Mass Effect is canceled, and DICE and Respawn have a future shooter in the works. Whether Battlefront 3 drove those decisions remains a claim from Bloomberg’s sources rather than an official explanation from the publisher.
Do you think EA made the right call by prioritizing a new Battlefront over Mass Effect?
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.