r/pcmasterrace • 7600 - 7800 XT Sapphire - 32GB DDR5 • 9h ago

News/Article EA shuts down BioWare

https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/ea-layoffs-bioware-shutting-down-respawn-dice-star-wars-battlefront-3-1236918715/
1.3k Upvotes

466 comments sorted by

View all comments

9

u/Combine54 8h ago

It is sad - but after mea and, especially, datv, I don't think that they were capable of developing a good (not even great, good) game that is not trying to shovel an agenda. So, it is a logical outcome, even outside of saudi deal. Who knows, maybe thats for the better - at least, me4 won't disappoint more than it not existing.

5

u/burdizthewurd 8h ago

Legitimate question: what exactly is the agenda their games were trying to shovel? Outside of inclusion of queer/trans characters I never understood this

17

u/MattRazor 8h ago

Baldur's Gate 3 managed to achieve inclusivity and sold outstandingly well. The difference is always in the quality of the writing

-3

u/burdizthewurd 8h ago

For sure, but bad writing does not itself indicate an agenda. The gameplay of Veilguard was fine enough that those that didn’t want to pay attention to that stuff didn’t need to if they just wanted to enjoy the game. I don’t understand why it was so bad to legitimately anger so many people and seemingly become the reason the studio is now closing.

2

u/Bentok 8h ago

It wasn't. For DAI, MEA and DAV you can look at critics vs audience scores and guess what happened.

BioWare was known for incredible writing and when the writing fell off, but the gameplay got better, it wasn't the BioWare people wanted anymore so the games got trashed online

1

u/burdizthewurd 8h ago

I hear what you’re saying, but I never heard DAI or MEA get described as having an agenda. I heard plenty of people call them meh or bad (and I myself returned my physical copy of Andromeda back when that was something you could do), but there was never the included claim that there was some sinister ligibituquah conspiracy in the works causing these games to be bad (and they certainly didn’t make people quite so angry). That changed with Veilguard and I have yet to hear a clearly stated explanation that doesn’t include some flavor of transphobia or homophobia

1

u/MattRazor 6h ago

the included claim that there was some sinister ligibituquah conspiracy

Every member or ally to the LGBTQ+ community I know have clowned this game for it's shit writing. The queer character they introduced and put forward with all spotlights was a caricature that just harmed the movement.

1

u/burdizthewurd 6h ago

I feel like you continue repeating yourself comment after comment. Why do you continue talking in circles and not actually addressing the core of what I’m saying

1

u/MattRazor 6h ago

I'm not sure I'm in the position to answer your question for the studio and execs that took the decision. I'm just stating an opinion that might not be relevent or even factual based on what I observed and supported by the sale numbers.

1

u/Bentok 6h ago

I was never talking about an agenda? My comment means exactly what I wrote.

1

u/burdizthewurd 6h ago

My comment was, all of my comments have been. The entire thread was. The original comment was. Like, wtf are you talking about then

0

u/Bentok 5h ago

You said "I don't understand why it was so bad to legitimately anger so many people"

That's what I responded to and where I offered an explanation.

Don't get mad at me for your lack or reading comprehension.

1

u/burdizthewurd 4h ago

You are questioning why I am bringing up the point of an agenda when it was the premise of the entire thread. It is you who lacks reading comprehension. I really don’t even feel that you adequately answered what you claim to be responding to.

2

u/Tragedy_Boner 8h ago

People aren’t buying BioWare games for gameplay. They want a good story with good writing.

4

u/MattRazor 8h ago

The agenda was progressive messages that apply to 2026 in a fantasy game, told to us by a game-making corporation.
I don't know how best to answer your legitimate question. BG3 had none of this performative bullshit.

-2

u/burdizthewurd 8h ago

I mean, that’s how the writers wanted to tell the story… corporations don’t write stories. The game studio had writers that you felt wrote a bad story. They wrote trans characters in a way that was ham fisted and performative. That’s fine. But that’s not the conspiratorial agenda that you and so many others make it out to be. It’s just bad writing.

By your logic, Baldur’s Gate also has an agenda. Their agenda just worked better.

2

u/MattRazor 8h ago

 corporations don’t write stories.

I am confident this is exactly what happened and what sunk their boat

3

u/burdizthewurd 8h ago

I don’t know how to explain this to you dude, but the game has a person who is lead writer. And a writing staff. The lead writer had worked for BioWare for two decades (including on many of the games you probably love from the studio). I am still failing to see how this is an agenda and not just writing missing the mark. Like what gives you the confidence to make that claim aside from vibes

1

u/hisnameisbinetti 8h ago

There's no agenda. They're just bigots. You're wasting your time.

0

u/MattRazor 8h ago

Ah yes, the ever-productive strawman of calling any criticism of performative bullshit as biggotry. Look how well that served Bioware lol

2

u/hisnameisbinetti 7h ago

Then enlighten us!

→ More replies