Electronic Arts announced on Wednesday that the legendary RPG studio BioWare has closed its doors. The sudden shutdown was not entirely unexpected—recent BioWare releases earned mixed reviews and modest sales figures—but many had quietly hoped the developer would regain its footing. Players and industry figures of a certain era still hold fond memories of surviving Mass Effect 2‘s suicide mission, or romancing a character in Dragon Age: Origins.
After Bloomberg reported that EA was doubling down on its most successful franchises and closing BioWare, the gaming industry found itself in a state of mourning. Many are sharing how BioWare shaped their love of video games, and revealing how their professional paths crossed with the legendary RPG studio. Despite recent controversial releases such as Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Anthem, BioWare remains inextricable from the world of video games.
Why is BioWare’s closure hitting RPG fans so hard?
Through games like Mass Effect, BioWare popularized choice-driven game design that persists to this day in series such as The Witcher and Undertale. BioWare did not invent such conventions—but as the controversy behind Mass Effect 3‘s ending proved, the studio undoubtedly helped shape the fantasy of a video game where your choices truly matter. It is a dream big-budget video games are still chasing in 2026, and you cannot discuss that design philosophy without talking about Commander Shepard.
In its own way, BioWare taught many gamers about the limits of game development. The ambitions shaping video games will always be lofty, and they are usually brought crashing down by the messy reality of budgets and management. Even when BioWare disappointed people, the feeling that has stuck with everyone above all is that the studio made people believe. In a world of easy cynicism—and as more beloved gaming companies are bought up by conglomerates—that is no easy feat.
No wonder, then, that the video game industry is reacting so strongly to BioWare’s closure. “BioWare is a company that changed my life,” said Satoru Homma of CD Projekt Red. “Without BioWare, Edgerunners might not have existed.”
I should go. #MassEffect pic.twitter.com/xMyGJfFAJZ
— Mass Effect Actualités (@MassEffect_News) October 21, 2026
This is not something I ever expected to see.
Larian and Bioware started their trajectories in the games industry at the same time and Bioware led the way in making RPGs big. It’s almost unimaginable that we’re now entering an era where the name Bioware won’t show up anymore… https://t.co/TMl6NZMXG4
— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) October 21, 2026
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