EA, Let My Bioware Go

Gary Swaby at TheKoalition.com writes: In an Anthem related report by Jason Schreier, we got some info about early plans for Dragon Age 4, the next entry in one of my favorite RPG series’. The report revealed juicy details, such as executives at EA changing the entire direction of the game in order to make the game more in line with Anthem.

[Srhalo]

There is no going back for Bioware.

Basically no one who had influence back in the prime works there anymore. Even if EA let them go with out just liquidating them and folding some people into EA I doubt Bioware would make the type of game people remember them for, if they could even afford to make/publish a game.

And on top of that EA owns all the licenses...

The best you could ever hope for is that a group of former Bioware people would form their own studio and publish games like they used too. But that is increasingly unlikely as time goes on and the industry forces the move to multiplayer games with MT's.

[Sophisticated_Chap]

Exactly, Bioware is pretty much finished. The passion and creative genius left the studio after ME3.

[Sono421]

Anyone thinking Bioware is blameless are fools. They had 6 years.... 6 years and the loot didn't even work properly in a looter shooter, but hey it's all big bad EA right?

[Godmars290]

"After"?

Honestly, I'd say during if not before. With ME1 they may have had excuse of not having enough money or time to do things right, but signs were in ME2 that they were more than willing to compromise for the least reason.

[quent]

I'm curious to know who owns the Baldurs Gate and NWN ip's

[annoyedgamer]

They're dead man. EA is wearing its skin as a mask.

[lociefer]

I wonder if it's possible to kickstart their freedom while gathering revenue on par with star citizen. Maybe.. just maybe the veterans will come back and stay.

Back the the real world tho: Ea will probably pull bioware's life support after the next dragon age

[rbailey]

Soon as I saw Anthem, I knew Bioware was making a game that EA shareholders wanted more than anything else. This story, unfortunately, won't end well as they rarely do. Hopefully, Bioware survives EA and can eventually gain full control of their own projects with full creative freedom but I doubt it.

[Hungryalpaca]

Um. Anthem was entirely BioWares fault. EA had next to nothing to do with how it went down. EA gave them 6 years. BioWare were the ones who didn’t utilize the time correctly.

If a professor gives their students 1 month to study for exams and they fail, that’s not the professors fault. That’s on the student.

[InTheLab]

What people choose to ignore is the fact that Bioware IS EA. Go back and read the stories of them fully supporting those MTs they shoved in Mass Effect 3 and that forced online .

[Findingcrybabies]

they're going to let them go alright. Let them go 6 feet deep. "your bioware" has been dead for years btw. The talent left the studio. Now its people just wearing the mask.

[Blu3_Berry]

At this point Bioware is dead. All the top talented people left and management is a mess. It's sad because Anthem's development isn't even EA's fault, it all on Bioware. They had 7 years, and this is what we got in the end. Just accept it, Bioware is dead and is a former shell of themselves. Honestly, I rather see them completely shut down then go independent. I can't imagine how terrible things would be run at Bioware if they went independent right now.

[TheColbertinator]

It is also the fault of EA.

[Hungryalpaca]

Not in Anthems case it wasn’t. They had very little to do with Anthems development.

[AnubisG]

It's not the BioWare we used to love anymore. Also, the shitty decisions were made by them, not EA.

[Kribwalker]

Bioware needs to go back to working with MS. KOTOR Jade Empire and Mass Effect were fantastic games. Bring back old Bioware

[MasterCornholio]

Making exclusives for Microsoft will not improve the quality of the games. Like posters have said above BioWare had very different employees back in the day when they produced those great games.

Remember BioWare made those games not Microsoft.

[quent]

True but if there was even a slim chance for them to build something up from the ashes a change is needed, could be Ms, could be paradox/thqnordic, idc

[MasterCornholio]

@Quent

Problem here is that EA owns BioWare not Microsoft. In order for Microsoft to have a direct influence over BioWare they need to buy them first. And EA selling BioWare could be disastrous for th developers.

If anything BioWare needs to be owned by someone who will give them a good budget, plenty of time and creative freedom. Not only that but a studio like BioWare needs support from studios that pump out high quality AAA games.

[Knightofelemia]

Sad to say but I wish EA would sell off Bioware and a company like Sony, Ubisoft, Capcom would buy them up. But I have a feeling EA will shut the doors on Bioware before they sell off the studio. EA is the killer of studios Visceral is a victim EA killed Dead Space, EA killed Bullfrog I still like to play Theme Hospital, EA killed Maxis. I really hope down the road an even bigger company buys up EA and shuts them down I will have a good laugh at EA when that happens. I will also have a good laugh if EA goes broke and has to liquidate their assets. Sad to say I honestly don't see EA keeping the doors open to Bioware much longer after Andromeda, and the stuff happening to Anthem.

[quent]

They need to stay 3rd party at least

[Xaevi]

but the problem lies within Bioware, parting with EA fixes nothing. TIme to realize and accept that all that was good about Bioware left and its not all EA's fault, as hard as that last part might be to accept

[autobotdan]

If they left EA Microsoft would buy them out fast. Microsoft been buying out studios

[Rachel_Alucard]

"Since Dragon Age Inquision, Bioware has failed to deliver a product that has appeased the masses"

More like Mass Effect 2, and I hated the change to a cover shooter direction after Dean Takahashi influenced that direction. You know that guy that couldn't dash and jump in Cuphead in the tutorial? That's who Bioware made changes for, people like him. They said this openly in an announcement so it's not some conspiracy. https://puu.sh/DdX6I/29d504...

He also played through Mass Effect 1 never allocating his skill points or anything and complained the game was too hard and gave it bad review. He didn't even know about the skill points until he actually read the comments.

[Kribwalker]

I agree. Mass Effect 2 was the last great bioware game.

[ziggurcat]

EA will close the studio rather than give them back their independence.

[tochi]

Let EA does what has made EA the EA.

One less lazy incompetent developer in this world.

[jznrpg]

It is probably too late. Key staff has probably
left already and replaced with cheaper or lesser talent . If the key players from BioWare would all team up again elsewhere maybe they can regain that magic but it’s hard to start over after being EA’d or MS’d

[RizBiz]

The old Bioware is dead. All the talent left years ago, before Andromeda was even pitched.

[AK91]

They died shortly before the release of Mass Effect 3

[Profchaos]

EA may have been the catalyst they may have played a giant factor in the failure of biowares recent titles from reading the Kotaku article there can be many conclusions but ultimately the article also highlighted the talent responsible for their past gems is now gone.

[dennigo]

okay if you've read the article by jason schreier then you know that this isn't all to blame on EA, bioware had NOTHING at the start of 2018 they had an idea and some basic concepts. they spent 5+ years doing nothing but lollygagging. EA has nothing to do with it, they gave them 7 years to produce anthem so if after 6 years it's still not remotely playable that's not the publishers fault!!! That's the developers fault. I suggest you READ the actual article and not just jump on the bandwagon

[BlaqMagiq1]

The old Bioware talent need to get together and work for Sony. They will allow them creative freedom and the time they need to make an amazing game.

[drunkenspy007]

Bioware is not the same company you knew.

[Germaximus]

While recently playing through Mass Effect 1 and 2 there have been several times where I've been like, "wow this is Anthem right here."

It's really cool to see where Anthem came from. The internet is full of moron sheep.

[TheCryptKeeper]

Bioware haven't made a good game since the first two Mass Effect's.

[quent]

Good game developer's and EA are just a bad combo period, that history has teached us over and over again

[That_Guy244]

Bioware is dead and EA just needs to put them out to pasture.

[Tross]

You mean let their corpse go. I've personally stopped supporting EA. I mean, it's too late for Bioware but it's only a matter of time before they suck the life out of another dev they acquire, and my money sure as heck won't help line their pockets to make that happen.

[isarai]

Well according to former staff, EA has pretty much nothing to do with Bioware's "Downfall", it has more to do with very poor internal management than anything else. given EA's track record it's easy to put the blame on them, but in this case seems like it's their own fault. So all you'd get if EA let Bioware go rather than shut them down, is the same disappointments only made worse by a far tighter budget.