You didn't mention the case of BioWare previous "failures" (below EA expectations) : Star Wars The Old Republic, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem and Dragon Age The Veilguard.
For a decade BioWare didn't really impress EA.
EA can still ask later to Respawn to develop the next Mass Effect, it won't be the first time that EA would transfer a franchise to another studio.
What made Mass Effect isn't the "BioWare" logo, it was the people (BioWare Montreal devs who moved to EA Motive after Andromeda failure for example).
"You're missing the point about why those games struggled.
The Veilguard underperformed because EA management spent years forcing BioWare to pivot it back and forth between a multiplayer live-service game and a single-player RPG. EA's corporate strategy crippled its development cycle, just like it did with Anthem. On the other hand, Star Wars: The Old Republic was a massive success that generated over $1 billion in lifetime revenue for EA before being handed off to free up staff.
Your history on the talent is also completely backwards. The original Mass Effect Trilogy was made by BioWare Edmonton. BioWare Montreal was the secondary studio handed Andromeda—the exact game you just called a failure. Moving those Montreal devs to Motive doesn't magically give Motive the ability to build a choices-matter narrative RPG.
Finally, thinking EA can just 'hand the IP to Respawn' shows a total misunderstanding of game design. Respawn makes phenomenal action games and shooters, but they have zero institutional experience or tools to write and build a branching, 100-hour narrative RPG where choices and saves carry over. The specific talent pool matters, and EA just threw it away."
Sure I'm not an expert but the ones who paid $35 billion are the ones who decide at the end.
The Saudi prince likes Mass Effect but it didn't stop the closure of BioWare.
"BioWare" veterans are developing Exodus, so "talents" are already no longer EA employees.
"BioWare" name isn't a magic spell that turn new devs into talents.
I mean, you've made point for once. The old BW team is working on Exodus, but you can't deny that the current studio was up to giving us a real treat after we got to see the last bit of what would've been the prequel to Andromeda being a redemption of the last BW members working on it. I'd gladly take that as a sign of progress in trying to do what's right, but EA had to be a butt about it and canceled that progress just a few years away from probably concluding what happened with the Milky Way, and the Quarian Ark as I have heard.
"You're absolutely right about that. At the end of the day, the private equity groups and corporate owners call the shots on spreadsheets, no matter what the fans or developers want.
And you make a great point about Exodus. A huge chunk of the classic, old-school BioWare talent—like James Ohlen and Drew Karpyshyn—did leave EA to form Archetype Entertainment. It's exactly why so many Mass Effect fans are keeping a close eye on Exodus now, because that's where the original creative DNA actually went.
Ultimately, it's just a shame that corporate decisions end up fracturing these legendary teams and universes. Thanks for the discussion!"
