--- title: 'BioWare Was Doomed for Years as Mass Effect Was a "Prestige Project" for EA - IGN Daily Fix' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=JS1L2Nkctgo' video_id: 'JS1L2Nkctgo' date: 2026-10-24 duration_sec: 233 channel: 'IGN' --- # BioWare Was Doomed for Years as Mass Effect Was a "Prestige Project" for EA - IGN Daily Fix > Source: [BioWare Was Doomed for Years as Mass Effect Was a "Prestige Project" for EA - IGN Daily Fix](https://youtube.com/watch?v=JS1L2Nkctgo) ## Summary The video reports on the closure of BioWare and the layoff of around 400 employees, framing it as a long-coming event. It also discusses the canceled Mass Effect Universe, offering details from an insider. ### Key Points - **BioWare Closure Announced** [00:23] — BioWare has been closed down and around 400 employees have been laid off. The studio was behind iconic RPGs like Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect. - **Analyst Verdict on BioWare's Fate** [01:04] — Analyst says BioWare was doomed long before the acquisition. IPs like Mass Effect are too costly and time-consuming for other developers to take on. - **EA's Financial Pressures** [01:47] — EA has $18 billion in debt and needs to cut $700 million in annual costs. Mass Effect is seen as a 'prestige project' that doesn't guarantee predictable cash flow, making it a target for cuts. - **Mass Effect Universe: Story Details** [02:12] — Canceled game was set 600 years after the Reaper War. The ending of Mass Effect 3 would have shaped the state of the galaxy, including the presence of more synthetic life. - **Mass Effect Universe: World and Gameplay** [02:38] — The galaxy would have been fragmented into alliances, with the Geth as a major superpower. Gameplay would have emphasized player freedom and hacking, with a focus on environmental manipulation. - **Fan Reaction and Petition** [03:33] — Fans have started a petition to save BioWare, which has already exceeded 50,000 signatures. A Canadian politician has also voiced support for the studio to operate independently. ## Transcript and today's daily fix we have a games industry analyst says as Boware was doomed even before EA's sale and some details from an insider on what Mass Effect Universe could have been. This is your daily fix. announced the closure of Boware and the layoff of around 400 employees across finger at Saudi Arabia's public investment fund which acquired EA for 55 analysts are saying Boware was doomed long before the acquisition. Boware based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was behind some of the greatest western RPGs of all time. Baldersgate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Knights, Star Wars Nights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and of course Mass Effect. Fans were gutted by the news of the closure, hoping against hope that EA might sell off Boware's IP obscurity. When asked about this possibility, industry analyst youth van said maybe, but explained that these IP are likely far too costly and far too timeconuming for other developers to tackle. Van said, quote, "In many ways, of the other studios we recently saw being divested. They are all wellknown and too expensive for most buyers. Capable publishers like CD Project Red own projects. The next Mass Effect game was announced back in 2020, but very cancel the game now? Van Junan explained that to EA, legacy IPs like Mass Effect are likely viewed as prestige projects. He continued, quote, "Before its buyout, recurring revenue streams and the focus of its new owners is sports, live if Mass Effect and Dragon Age were insist on predictable cash flow. It makes franchises like Mass Effect a prestige project. EA has around 18 billion in debt, which cost them around 1.8 billion a year in interest. EA has already told its lenders they will cut around 700 million in annual costs. And considering Mass Effect Universe, as the still years away from release. The game and its team were probably near the top of the list of things to cut. In related news, YouTube creator Dantix has dropped some details verified by IGN on the now canceled Mass Effect Universe. Dantix, Effect council of community members providing feedback on the progress of the game, also posted a breakdown of these details on Twitter. Mass Effect 600 years after the Reaper war which concluded in Mass Effect 3. The choice set up the state of the world and universe. Meaning if you chose the have been more hybrid synthetics in the galaxy. The Mass Effect relays have been advanced to where the reapers would be considered old tech and there would be Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. But the council races had broken up into their own smaller alliances with the humans, Barians, and Krogan allied together. However, the GU had emerged as a major superpower as teased by early Mass Effect 5 promo art. When the game starts, the galaxy would have been in a gameplay goes, Dantic said that while the player would have been an inse agent would have much more emphasis on player freedom, similar to the Hitman games. stop-and- pop gunplay of the original trilogy. You would still form a squad to clash with one another. There would also be much more emphasis on hacking and environment manipulation, which sounds like influence from Cyberpunk 2077. Your brutal close-range executions, as evidenced by the recently leaked Mass that the chances of getting a new Mass Effect are slim, but fans aren't giving IP has already surged past 50,000 signatures, and a Canadian politician is out Boware so they can operate independently. 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