BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard Team Shrinks Below 100 After Layoffs

BioWare, the renowned game development studio, has reportedly seen its workforce shrink to fewer than 100 employees following layoffs and staff departures after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. According to Bloomberg, the studio had more than 200 employees two years ago during the peak of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's development.

Last week, EA restructured BioWare to exclusively focus on the development of Mass Effect 5. This shift led to the reassignment of some Dragon Age: The Veilguard team members to other EA projects. For instance, John Epler, the creative director for Veilguard, has been permanently moved to work on Full Circle's upcoming skateboarding game, Skate. Similarly, senior writer Sheryl Chee from Veilguard has transitioned to work on Iron Man at Motive.

This decision came after EA revealed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard did not meet the company's sales expectations, engaging only 1.5 million players in the recent financial quarter—a figure nearly 50% below projections. Bloomberg noted that these staff reassignments are now permanent, meaning those moved to other studios are no longer considered BioWare employees.

In the wake of these changes, several BioWare developers announced their layoffs on social media, including editor Karin West-Weekes, narrative designer and lead writer Trick Weekes, editor Ryan Cormier, producer Jen Cheverie, and senior systems designer Michelle Flamm. This follows previous layoffs at BioWare in 2023 and the recent departure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche.

When IGN sought details from EA regarding the number of affected employees and those remaining at BioWare, the response was non-specific. EA stated, "The studio's priority was Dragon Age. During this time there were people continuing to build the vision for the next Mass Effect. Now that The Veilguard has shipped, the studio's full focus is Mass Effect. While we're not sharing numbers, the studio has the right number of people in the right roles to work on Mass Effect at this stage of development."

Bloomberg reported that approximately two dozen BioWare employees were impacted by these layoffs. Jason Schreier from Bloomberg noted that the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard as a complete game was considered miraculous by BioWare staff, given the challenges posed by EA's initial push for a live-service model and subsequent reversal. IGN has previously detailed some of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's development struggles, including earlier layoffs and the exit of several project leads.

As fans express concern over the future of the Dragon Age series, a former BioWare writer reassured the community, stating, "Dragon Age isn't dead because it's yours now."

Looking ahead, EA confirmed that a "core team" at BioWare, led by veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy such as Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley, is currently developing the next installment in the Mass Effect series.