Mass Effect 5 cancelled as Electronic Arts shuts down entire studio

The next Mass Effect game, believed to be Mass Effect 5, has been cancelled as Electronic Arts lays off hundreds of employees.

Layoffs are nothing new for the video game industry, but they’ve been especially potent in 2026, and today it was EA’s turn to deliver the bad news.

As reported by Bloomberg, around 400 jobs have been lost and BioWare has been closed in its entirety. The studio was best known for Mass Effect and the Dragon Age series.

No word has been shared on what will become of these IPs going forward, but the next Mass Effect game has effectively been cancelled.

BioWare shared a statement on X regarding the news, saying: “For more than 30 years, BioWare has been more than a studio. It has been a home for storytellers, developers, and the players who brought our worlds to life.

“Baldur's Gate. Neverwinter Nights. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Dragon Age. Mass Effect. Anthem. Now, after more than three decades of shared adventures, BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending.”

The statement went on to say: “Our focus right now is on our incredibly talented team who put their hearts into these games, and supporting one another through this transition.”

What was next for BioWare, Mass Effect 5 and the future of Dragon Age

Unfortunately some might have seen this decision coming. The last Mass Effect game, Mass Effect: Andromeda, failed to receive the same recognition as the trilogy before it.

Then the most recent Dragon Age game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, received harsh criticism over its art style and story, with mixed reviews from critics and gamers alike.

Little was known about the next Mass Effect game as, like BioWare’s farewell post said, it was still in early development. However, it likely would have been the make-or-break point for the series.

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It would have also been competing with the new Mass Effect-like game Exodus, which has been very positively received based on its recent round of previews.

Perhaps the series will return one day under a new team, but whether fans would accept a new Mass Effect game from any studio other than BioWare is another question.

It’s unclear whether this will have any impact on the live-action Mass Effect TV series currently in the works as well.

Ultimately, it’s a sad day for the team at BioWare, other employees affected by the layoffs, and gamers around the world.

It also directly contradicts EA’s news from earlier this week, when it announced the return of a beloved series just hours before killing off another.

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