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Now-closed RPG legend BioWare is a mere footnote in a new message from EA’s top brass communicating the company’s next chapter following a buyout deal led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. COO David Tinson and CSO Cam Weber maintain that “we should be proud” of what EA has become.
“Today, we’re the number one publisher in Western HD gaming,” the executives’ joint statement, first shared with EA employees, reads. “That’s an extraordinary position to lead from, and one we should be proud of. Yet our industry is changing quickly. Players have more choices than ever for their time and attention, competition is intensifying, and some of our biggest opportunities for growth are beyond the markets, platforms, and business models where EA has traditionally been the strongest.”
It’s unclear by what metrics EA is measuring the curiously specific market of “Western HD gaming,” though there’s no disputing the company’s massive reach and sales. Equally, there’s no disputing its collection of shuttered studios.
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The end of BioWare, a load-bearing pillar of RPGs since 1995, gets one short paragraph in this statement.
“As we focus on these larger opportunities, we’ve had a small team at BioWare working on early-development for Mass Effect,” it reads. “We’ve made the decision not to move forward with this development, which means we’re closing the studio and our Edmonton workspace. BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly.”
EA spends much more time explaining its plans to double down on EA Sports, shooters to be overseen by “our Respawn and DICE studios” in collaboration, and action-adventure games like upcoming releases Marvel’s Iron Man and “the next Star Wars Jedi game.”
The Sims and Skate are also mentioned, but with little or bad news. The Sims’ mystery release “Project Lotus” is “pausing development,” and Skate’s development studio is “making changes” to create “a more focused, smaller team,” which sounds like yet more layoffs.
EA describes this plan as the result of taking “a hard look at our business, how we operate, and what it will take to lead in this next era of interactive entertainment.” Its goals are summed up in three strategic pillars: “Deepen Our Core, Expand Our Reach, Transform Our Business.”
In so many words, EA wants to refocus on its biggest series, make headway in new markets and business models (“regions as dynamic as Asia,” for example), and create “entirely new ways for fans to engage with the teams, athletes and sports they love.”
“Saying no to some things we’re passionate about allows us to focus our teams and resources so we give our biggest opportunities everything they need to succeed,” EA leaders insist. I wonder if EA employees would agree.
EA tells employees worried about layoffs after $55 billion buyout that there will be “no immediate changes” to your jobs, and I think “immediate” is the key word here.
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