Citing sources from within BioWare, Kotaku is reporting that the studio’s Montreal arm has been scaled down in the wake of Mass Effect: Andromeda and its lukewarm reception.
That means the Mass Effect series has effectively been placed on ice for the foreseeable future, and if Electronic Arts and/or BioWare had any intention of a follow-up to Andromeda, those tentative sequel plans have likely been shelved. Kotaku’s report goes on to stress that BioWare Montreal hasn’t been hit with layoffs per se; rather, a portion of its staffers have been relocated to other EA studios. For instance, just last month it was revealed that a handful of former Montreal employees had made the transition over to EA Motive to assist in the development of Star Wars Battlefront II.
Meanwhile, those who have remained at BioWare Montreal will reportedly contribute to the studio’s mysterious new IP. Codenamed Dylan, it’s also an RPG-styled adventure, just don’t expect it to release anytime before March 2018. It will, however, light up the sophomore EA Play event next month, if rumors are to be believed.
As for Mass Effect, in light of Kotaku’s findings, EA relayed a statement from BioWare Montreal studio director, Yanick Roy:
Our teams at BioWare and across EA put in tremendous effort bringing Mass Effect Andromeda to players around the world. Even as BioWare continues to focus on the Mass Effect Andromeda community and live service, we are constantly looking at how we’re prepared for the next experiences we will create.
The teams in EA Worldwide Studios are packed with talent, and more than ever, we are driving collaboration between studios on key projects. With our BioWare and Motive teams sharing studio space in Montreal, we have BioWare team members joining Motive projects that are underway. We’re also ramping up teams on other BioWare projects in development.
There will be much more to come from BioWare in the years ahead.
Shackled by hype and lofty expectations, Mass Effect: Andromeda launched two months ago to relatively mixed reviews and, perhaps most damaging of all, a vast array of technical glitches. BioWare Montreal’s first entry into the series didn’t exactly go as planned, then – BioWare Edmonton was behind the first three Mass Effect titles, each of which came together to form the Shepherd trilogy – but what are your thoughts on today’s purported revelation? Do let us know below.
