Hope for BioWare? Canadian Politician Proposes Unusual Rescue Plan

The gaming industry has lost one of its most iconic development studios with the closure of BioWare. The studio was shut down as part of a restructuring at Electronic Arts that is expected to cost around 400 EA employees their jobs. However, a glimmer of hope has now emerged for the Canadian developer – and it comes directly from the country’s political scene. Altro specifically, from Avi Lewis, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party. In a post on Bluesky, Lewis criticizes the influence of private equity investors, accusing them of stripping companies for short-term profits. According to the politician, BioWare’s developers know how to run a studio and create “the games we all love.” Lewis believes the developers should be given the opportunity – and the necessary government support – to take control of BioWare themselves.

For now, however, this is merely a public political proposal that leaves plenty of questions unanswered. Would EA even be willing to sell the studio? And would BioWare’s former employees actually be interested in taking it over? Another major question concerns the rights to franchises such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age. It seems rather unlikely that EA would simply hand over these valuable properties. There has also been no response from the Canadian government so far.

On Reddit, the proposal has sparked considerable interest, but relatively few users seem convinced that the plan could actually work. Fans aren’t just skeptical about whether a government-backed buyout could happen in the first place. Many also question whether it would really save BioWare. Their main argument is that the developers responsible for classics such as Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic have long since moved on. There’s also the question of how the Canadian government could justify spending taxpayer money to rescue a development studio that was already struggling.

Source(s)

Avis Lewis via Bluesky

Image source: Bioware, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 license (edited)