r/masseffect • u/deanpmorrison • 7h ago
NEWS EA's Garbage Statement on the Closure
https://www.ea.com/news/building-eas-next-chapterTL;DR
They're laying people off and canceling projects, and they're up their own ass about it
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u/Chorik 7h ago
20 BILLION debt says it all. It was almost inevitable. Unfortunately way more layoffs coming before the year ends.
It will prob end up like Toy'R'Us levered buyout, Saudi fund will parcel out the skeleton of the company in few years
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u/KnG_Yemma 7h ago
20 billion in debt sounds so grossly irresponsible for a company as big as EA, how the hell does that even happen?
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u/Nemesis_Ghost 6h ago
Easy, you take out a massive loan to buy a company easily worth 2-3x that, then make your new company owe that debt.
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u/Maximum__Mango 7h ago
I guess everybody already forgot about the Saudi's $55 billion leveraged buyout of EA with the help of Jared Kushner?
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u/TheRealJikker 6h ago
I think a lot of folks don't realize how much of that buyout was transferred in debt onto EA.
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u/TheMadTemplar 6h ago
It was a leveraged buyout. Why they did it I have no clue, because it doesn't help EA at all, but it happens in big business. Basically, the company being purchased agrees as part of the acquisition to take on the responsibility of the debt from some of the loans required to purchase them. They will then need to both pay-off those loans to get out from under the debt and make money for their new owners. Best guess is that the prior owners got a massive payout from the acquisition, then dip out leaving the company with billions in new debt.
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u/delecti 51m ago
Why they did it I have no clue, because it doesn't help EA at all
The former shareholders all got to sell for a profit. "EA" was property, you don't consider how your car would feel if someone offered to buy it for a premium.
And like, it sucks, because EA also owned a lot of culturally important franchises, but none of that matters to the shareholders.
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u/_HGCenty 7h ago
Means they likely won't sell the IP for cheap.
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u/DasGanon 7h ago
And for that price nobody will pick up the pieces.
"I can spend x million dollars just to continue someone else's story? Just use that money to start from scratch or get a book's license for cheaper."
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u/skyxsteel 6h ago
Maybe Microsoft… maybe.
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u/DasGanon 5h ago
Microsoft "let's gut ID software and sell Doublefine" isn't a good choice right now either lol
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u/NohFyoochur 2h ago
And they did that to a studio that's actually shipping good games that they themselves cannibalized with game pass. No chance they save bioware let alone buy an IP they couldn't deliver on.
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u/OkEase1151 6h ago
Even then it’d just be one Private Equity group to another. At that point just let the devs start fresh with someone else or start their own thing.
Only legit question is if the Amazon show’s done too, that’s kinda the only other thing that can still drop at this point
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u/Agent-Z46 3h ago
"We're the number one publisher in western gaming" oh go fuck yourselves. What a thing to say after pulling this bullshit.
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u/excusetheblood 1h ago
Maybe some guillotines will help them to reflect on their "sense of accomplishment"
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u/PunkRawkSoldier 2h ago
Because they’re counting all the North American sports games that are all complete trash.
And COD, which is just military-themed masturbatory trash.
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u/Hinaloth 5m ago
I keep getting pushed EASports ads, despite making it clear I hate those games, especially the soccer manager bullshit. I'm tempted to start commenting on them about how they can push all the braindead trash like that they want, but to stop calling themselves a gaming company since all they do is peddle paid ads for the Saudis. But that'd be giving them engagement so I won't.
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u/Telos1807 7h ago
Today, we're the number one publisher in Western HD gaming.
Man fuck y'all.
Hope they choke on their Saudi money, they can be the victims of a closure to meet some profit margin next time round.
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u/ultinateplayer 6h ago
Are they?
Take 2, for all their innumerable flaws themselves, publish a bunch of huge hitting titles. And chief amongst those is GTA- the new one is probably going to be setting records and will be one of those games that breaks out of conventional gamer circles in a big way.
EA don't publish good games anymore. They have done, but not for ages.
Such an obnoxious claim from them.
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u/WizardPhoenix 6h ago
Take Two is definitely the answer. They are about to have the biggest launch in the history of entertainment, EA will never even get close to that.
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u/huesodelacabeza 5h ago
I triple dare them to make this into a Reddit post.
We got records to break.
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u/Ill-Kangaroo9452 7h ago
the day ea gets liquidated the entire sub will be throwing the biggest party in the milky way
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u/amvi88 6h ago
Well I’ll no longer purchase anything EA related tyvm
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u/grimacingmoon 4h ago
Unless you like soccer, Battlefield, and Apex, there won't be anything to buy
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u/Capitan_Scythe 4h ago
They have said they're bringing back the Fight Night series from the dead. EA probably consider that to be the peak of varied choice from their headliners
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u/sufinomo 5h ago
this statement looks like something youd write to stock holders not gamers. How out of touch lol.
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u/Miyuki22 5h ago
Pirating exists, lad.
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u/ATarnishedofNoRenown 4h ago
They don't have anything worth pirating. Sports games and CoD are the lowest form of "gaming." People should do themselves a favour and play actual games.
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u/Miyuki22 1h ago
That's subjective... Eg EA WRC is a great candidate (because it removes kernel anticheat which then allows running on SteamOS).
Despite not liking the parent company, some of the products are actually good.
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u/blue_line-1987 4h ago
Thats a lot of words to say you'll only be cranking out FIFA and COD slop all the time henceforth.
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u/lasthopel 7h ago
It is clear the bank is now fully running the show i cant believe people thought ea being sold was good this was always the goal
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u/JesterMarcus 6h ago
I don't know anyone but shareholders who thought it was good.
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u/lasthopel 6h ago
So many people on reddit were saying it could not make ea worse without a hint or irony
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u/KyleVPirate 5h ago
EA is a cryptkeeper to dead studios and dead IP's. They have massive debt. If there's any glimmer of hope is that they'll sell the IP they have been hoarding, some for decades, to other studios and companies. From Command and Conquer, Dead Space, Titanfall, Mirrors Edge, Army of Two, Medal of Honor, Syndicate, etc., to now Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Jade Empire, etc.
It's time for a new generation to revitalize these IP's. But we are in the bad timeline. With AI making RAM, SSD's, and GPU's unobtainable, and with game developing taking almost 10 years (Fallout, Skyrim, Mass Effect RIP). It's bad out there.
RIP to one of the greatest studios of all time. Fuck EA, the Saudi government, and Jared Kushner.
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u/APEXN717 7h ago
Someone please tell me mass effect isn’t gone forever. Another publisher or studio can pick it up right?
This is my favorite gaming franchise of all time we are talking about here😞.
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u/Melancholy_Rainbows 4h ago
EA has in the past hoarded dead IPs like a dragon. But they have new owners right now and a massive debt thanks to the leveraged buyout. They may be looking for ways to make money right now rather than holding onto an IP in case there's a chance to make money from it later.
It's remotely possible, but I definitely wouldn't place any money on it or get even a little hope up about it.
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u/ShadowWalker2205 2h ago
Also the Saudi wealth is rumoured to be a bit light atm because the war preventing them from exporting oil. so if a good offer shows up they might take the cash because they need it.
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u/Tyrant05 3h ago
This is my hope since its very apparent that the new owners (Saudi's) seem to be only interested in the Sports side of EA given their track record in all the other sports revenue they have acquired. It would awesome if another studio could buy it up, however, I think the only ones that could (Sony, Microsoft) may also not see it as a profitable investment. Very sad day for one of my most charished storyline.
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u/streakermaximus 6h ago
Best we can do is a Spiritual Successor in a decade.
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u/the-unfamous-one 6h ago
EA "It's my IP to sit on and do nothing with!"
Yeah it's going to be a while.
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u/O7Knight7O 6h ago
They might auction it off or license it at some point, but for the immediate future, I'd expect them to sit on it like a dragon on a horde.
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u/MrLeHah N7 5h ago
They've been sitting on Wing Commander since, what, 1999?
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u/Taolan13 3h ago
Arena was 2007, but it's still a good example of a huge franchise they are doing nothing with.
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u/Agent-Z46 3h ago
In an official capacity it probably is over. However fanart, fanfiction, cosplays and all that good stuff isn't going anywhere. Mass Effect is still incredibly beloved, support fan projects and keep Mass Effect alive.
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u/RollingDownTheHills Mass Relay 6h ago
Fuck these guys and their Saudi overlords. Not buying anything from them ever again.
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u/Blze001 5h ago
"The decisions we’re making in our priorities, how we work, and with our portfolio reflect our belief in EA’s future."
In laymans terms: we want insanely microtransaction-riddled titles we can lazily update with AI and have high profit margins. We're only doing the Jedi game because of licensing agreements and penalties.
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u/PhilosopherNo8418 7h ago
Bioware have released one expensive disaster after another in recent years. There is no way their Private Equity owners were ever going to give them the leeway that EA did. It's very sad but inevitable.
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u/Black_Hole_1987 5h ago
They release the same game every year, they are focusing on that? They canceled the next sims game. They have a generic shooter game. Only thing worthwhile is the next Jedi game. GL with digging their own grave. They kill every good franchise and keep the trash for the simps.
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u/Inca_VPS 6h ago
EA can officially get lost now.
Outside of Bioware games, the last EA game I bought was BF3 (whatever the year that was and I was bored and stopped playing like 2 weeks after release, before the very first preorder DLC map was scheduled to release). They have had nothing to offer since then.
Last Bioware game I bought was Anthem. They took my money for that, then promised to fix it and make 2.0, then cancelled it and finally removed the game from my fucking library like it was never there. Without full refund.
After Anthem release I wasn't going to buy anything from EA/BW. Broke that rule once only, for MELE at 50% off. Do play it through high seas version tho, can't have them use me in their active users statistic.
The only possible exception could've been that next DA/ME games are pure 10/10 masterpieces. How DA turned out we know, so I wasn't waiting for the next ME at all at this point.
Still hurts, this. Fuck EA.
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u/Far_Adeptness9884 5h ago
I never bought EA games outside of ME, and Jedi Survivor games, but now I definitely won't be buying any of their garbage.
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u/AlCapone111 3h ago
I'm sure this has nothing to do with the new Saudi ownership. Mass Effect always having strong women and LGBT+ positive inclusion does not fit with what they believe. Fuck EA.
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u/Gunkiees 2h ago
It probably has more to do with the fact the last decent game BioWare put out was Dragon Age Inquisition.
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u/BarRoomBully 2h ago
Decent being the key word here. You'd have to go back even further for their last actually good game.
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u/IlikeGeekyHistoryRSA 7h ago edited 7h ago
i mean this sucks, it really does, and i hate to play devils advocate to fucking EA of all things, but i think people need to keep in mind that EA is a business that needs to eventually profit. BioWare has been struggling to make decent games as of recent times, and i think it makes sense to metaphorically send the old dog to a farm up north.
At least potential confirmation of SW Battlefront 3 lightens the mood somewhat
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u/JCyTe 2h ago
BioWare has been struggling to make decent games as of recent times
Recent my ass, Bioware has been struggling for more than a decade at this point. Actually way longer depending on how you look at it.
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u/meatballforlife 1h ago
It’s insane that ever since dragon age inquisition, 12 years ago, they have only made 3 games. Andromeda which is uh, yeah, a game that exists. Anthem, which is a game that doesn’t exist. And dragon age veilguard, which killed the franchise. They made one game for every 4 years and they were back to back failures. Frankly this was a long time coming for BioWare.
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u/_HGCenty 7h ago
I don't mind it if someone can buy the IP and resurrect Mass Effect and BioWare with the indie spirit that made ME1.
Whether EA sells the IP cheaply though.
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u/AutistcCuttlefish 7h ago
I'd love for Larian to buy mass effect and dragon age, but I just don't see why they'd be interested when they can work on their own IP instead.
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u/AiBestGirl95 7h ago
That and buying the IP I would assume is going to be a 9 figure deal which is a significant investment for a company the size of Larian
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u/Magdovus 6h ago
Depends on the nature of the deal. A company like Larian might be able to arrange to pay on the back end as a profit share, with them essentially acting as a subcontractor.
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u/SRGTBronson 7h ago
You never know. Bethesda bought the publishing rights to fallout 3 and 4 from interplay for ~6 million dollars when they were half the size Larian is now.
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u/TheMadTemplar 6h ago
Less than half. Larian is larger than BGS is now. BGS had around 100 employees when they made Skyrim and fewer still when they bought the rights to Fallout.
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u/Odd-Asparagus7633 19m ago
Depending on how Divinity 3 goes, they might be on the Market for a series with an inbuilt fanbase. I don't see why they wouldn't be interested in another series from the same people that gave them their biggest hit to date.
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u/enigma7x 7h ago
EA was purchased by Saudi money and is now privately owned and they took on 20 billion dollars in debt. I would be shocked if they were ever profitable again.
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u/IlikeGeekyHistoryRSA 7h ago
yeah you'd think shutting down studios which cannot turn a profit and are therefore monetary bloat would help alleviate their financial situation
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u/deanpmorrison 7h ago
Andrew Wilson has made more than 60 million dollars in two years.
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u/IlikeGeekyHistoryRSA 7h ago edited 6h ago
with all due respect im not sure how that matters to the ultimate fact that Bioware wasn't making money (which is a problem that could be fixed by making good games) and evidently didnt seem like it was going to make money
If EA cant see profitability in an IP thats big like Mass Effect is, then there has to ultimately be some reason for it besides "EA is evil and kills puppies"
like i said, it sucks that this situation has to even happen to begin with, but thats just the facts of the situation.
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u/TheRealJikker 6h ago
Given it's been 6 years (?) since the first tease and the game wasn't even past pre-production, I've wondered if EA saw on the backend the same management issues that led to the troubles of Andromeda and Anthem (and Veilguard to an extent). EA doesn't get much profit from single player RPGs in the first place and if the same warning signs were there that existed for previous BioWare titles, that could explain EA pulling the plug.
EA is not a good company and they do kill studios, but BioWare is not completely blameless here. Companies don't offer charity - if a product isn't making money, they cancel it, stop making it, cut it, etc...
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u/MissingXpert 6h ago
EA has a history of buying big, fiddling with the management and creative direction, and then jumping ship once their corporately mandated live-service garbage doesn'tt take off.
All the Studios EA has bought and shuttered, like Visceral, Westwood, BioWare, Pandemic, dozens of others, it is always EA that's the common denominator.
BioWare for sure wasn't perfect, no arguing here, but the amount of Studios dying under EA is a poor sign of quality for them.
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u/erdonko 6h ago
This sub is very much a small echochamber so a lot of opinions just get snowballed.
The sad truth is that Bioware holds just as much blame. It was them fucking up Anthem and Andromeda that made EA micromanage Veilguard and fuck it up as well. Near a decade without a decent project, it was bound to happen. No one even expected much of the new Mass Effect either due to it.
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u/chaamp33 3h ago
Maybe we’ll get some more info in the coming months because the layoffs but we can’t really know for sure if this was an EA fault or a BioWare fault.
Regardless the decision to close it is sad but not at all surprising.
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u/Madfutvx 7h ago
Its the Saudis and PE guys who want the quick buck. If EA was still public company, I doubt they would’ve shut down Bioware
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u/AttyMAL 6h ago
Bioware did it to themselves. The founders are all gone, nearly all of the other OGs from the Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age 1 days are gone, they've had over a decade of flops, and they refused to listen to their core audience about what was wrong with their last several games. How else was this supposed to end? They're lucky EA kept the lights on as long as they did.
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u/babasilikum 5h ago
This statement is so tone deaf, its typical EA. God, I hate them. My hope is that they are selling Dragon Age and Mass Effect to capable hands. But atleast Exodus looks promising
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u/Gold-Bank-3033 6h ago
Ultima and Titanfall seeing Mass Effect come and join them in the graveyard of Ips owned by EA.
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u/Old-Swimming2799 5h ago
There you go
Congrats to everyone involved at both bioware and EA, 30 years of supposed hardwork culminating to a 60 word borderline footnote.
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u/JerbearCuddles 5h ago
There's a very slim chance they sell the IPs, very slim. I haven't been a Bioware believer since I seen how they handled Andromeda and the lead up to Veilguard. But I still love these IPs. EA, I know you're scum of the Earth but do one solid in your worthless life and sell the IPs. I don't care who picks em up. I want Dragon Age and Mass Effect in my life.
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u/Mr_Celestin_49 1h ago
Blah Blah Blah, Business Business we will just make Sims and Sports slop and that will be all
Thanks
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u/thelingletingle 50m ago
Harsh truth is that the studio hasn’t put out anything good for a decade, and when it did it was a remaster. Writing was on the wall.
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u/uuuhhhh24 45m ago
Really deepened their core and expanded their reach by shutting down a beloved studio
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u/MuttsandHuskies 3h ago
They’re keeping the Sims over Mass Effect? Jesus Christ.
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u/ScarredWill 2h ago
I don’t think we need to drag other franchises because our favorite one is dead.
The Sims is an immensely successful franchise that is popular with a much broader audience than Mass Effect is.
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u/P00nz0r3d 1h ago
Sims is the best selling video game series of all time lol
Mass Effect hasn’t been relevant since 3
If the decision had to be made it was a very easy one
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u/Schmitty777 6h ago
This shouldn’t be a surprise, do we not remember the disaster that was Veilgaurd and the short lived anthem. They haven’t put anything good out in the last decade.
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u/Don_Madruga 6h ago
If I translate to words all the hate I have of EA, accumulated in over 15 years, my account would probably be suspended do to the amount of heavy offenses I would proliferate
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u/lern2swim 6h ago
Anyone blaming this on bioware rather than ea needs to seek mental help.
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u/TheRealJikker 6h ago
It's both. EA definitely made the choice, but BioWare also released three losses in a row which is not good at convincing EA that they will be profitable and worth investing in.
EDIT: And to be fair, I don't even know if that would have saved them. Yes, in the end, EA doesn't want to make single player RPGs that don't have loot boxes or season passes in them.
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u/astraseeker 6h ago
The last arguably decent game from Bioware came out 12 years ago. How is this not on them exactly? They were getting paid all this time and end up producing Andromeda, Anthem and Veilguard. They should have been disbanded back after Andromeda.
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u/lern2swim 6h ago
No. Refer to me previous response.
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u/astraseeker 6h ago
What do you mean "no"? They were producing trash for 12+ years, that's definitely on them, regardless of how evil EA is.
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u/This_Elk_1460 5h ago
Now that EA is owned by the Saudi Arabian government I'm going to officially say that EA uses slave labor
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u/ProjectNo4090 6h ago
I bet if you asked the Veilguard team their thoughts they still would say they were proud of Modern Audience Age: Wokeguard.
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u/Retriak 2h ago
The new mass effect had been in preproduction for SIX YEARS. Do you people HONESTLY believe that you would keep your jobs if you were payed for six years and had NOTHING to show for it. Some of you have got to get a grip. The gaming industry is the only place where this is allowed to happen. At some point EA was going to want a return on their investment. They haven’t exactly been cranking out hits over there
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u/usernamescifi 3h ago
I mean, did you expect anything else from their statement? It's EA, expecting anything better than garbage is completely unrealistic.
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u/stop_hittingyourself 7h ago
TLDR For those who don't want to slog though AI generated corporate speak: They're focusing on sports games and fps.