EA shut BioWare. Follow the money. | Gaming & Esports - Dataspheres AI

EA shut BioWare. Follow the money. GAMING & ESPORTS EA shut BioWare. Follow the money. October 23, 2026 Welcome to Gaming & Esports. BioWare is closing Bio...

EA shut BioWare. Follow the money. GAMING & ESPORTS EA shut BioWare. Follow the money. October 23, 2026 Welcome to Gaming & Esports. BioWare is closing BioWare is closing — "BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending" — "There is nothing easy about writing those words" BioWare's own social post, quoted by Newsweek (Oct 22, 2026). What EA cut What EA cut 400 jobs cut at Electronic Arts 3% of the whole company 50 of them at BioWare 1995 the year BioWare started making games Bloomberg via Newsweek, TNW, Kotaku, Insider Gaming, Massively OP: ~400 jobs, ~3%, ~50 at BioWare. Newsweek/TNW: BioWare founded 1995, bought by EA 2007. Who they are Who they are — BioWare made Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect and Dragon Age — Electronic Arts is one of the world's biggest game publishers BioWare: Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect, Dragon Age (Star Wars: The Old Republic shown) Electronic Arts: Madden NFL, EA Sports FC, The Sims (headquarters, Redwood City, California) Kotaku/Newsweek: BioWare's games. EA release (via Advanced Television): EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, The Sims, Battlefield, Apex Legends. So why close a 31-year-old studio? So why close a 31-year-old studio? Follow the money. BioWare founded 1995 -> 31 years in 2026. The buyout The buyout Sep 29, 2025 Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners agree to buy EA Dec 22, 2025 shareholders approve $210 a share Aug 4, 2026 the deal closes at about $55 billion Oct 21, 2026 400 jobs cut, BioWare closed EA release Aug 4 2026: announced Sep 29 2025, stockholder approval Dec 22 2025, closed Aug 4 2026, $210/share; ~$55B (TheWrap, VGC). Oct 21: Bloomberg. Who owns EA now Who owns EA now VGC and Advanced Television (CADE filing): PIF 93.4%, Silver Lake 5.5%, Affinity 1.1%. Affinity Partners is Jared Kushner's firm (TheWrap, Kotaku). $55 billion, mostly borrowed $55 billion, mostly borrowed — A leveraged buyout: the company itself pays the loan back — EA now carries about $18 billion of debt VGC: largest leveraged buyout ever; definition. TheWrap: $20B JPMorgan debt, $18B funded at closing. The debt math The debt math VGC (Aug 5): Schreier on Bluesky - ~$18B debt, ~$1.8B a year in interest, EBITDA ~$1.5B. The promise to lenders The promise to lenders $700M a year in cost cuts, promised to EA's lenders $170M of it called "organizational efficiencies" 400 jobs this week VGC (Bloomberg): $700M annual cost cuts incl. $170M 'organizational efficiencies'. Kotaku ties the closure to the debt and the $700M promise. The other side The other side — BioWare's recent games struggled; Anthem was shut down — Almost every big game publisher has cut jobs since 2023 — EA says fewer, bigger games are the plan GamesBeat: 'struggling BioWare studio'. Earlier downsizing: Kotaku 2023, TechRadar Jan 2026. Memo: 'deliver exceptional experiences ... sustained growth'. Not just the games. The loan. Not just the games. The loan. About $1.8 billion a year in interest. And the loan is still there. Mic drop (GOV-058). $1.8B: Schreier via VGC. Easy Media Kits on Dataspheres AI Easy Media Kits on Dataspheres AI Automate videos like this. dataspheres.ai/pages/dataspheres-ai/one-show-every-platform Scan to learn more Easy Media Kits on Dataspheres AI. Automate videos like this. Scan the code or go to dataspheres.ai/pages/dataspheres-ai/one-show-every-platform.