Abstract:
EA was acquired by a Saudi fund, and the company ushered in a major turning point. At that time, the outside world was worried that the acquisition would lead to project cancellations and studio closures. Now with BioWare officially shutting down, the worst guesses have become a reality.
But this is not the first time that EA has closed an acquired studio. Throughout its nearly 40-year corporate history, EA has closed 20 studios directly after acquisitions. This incident also highlights the poor performance of its management in retaining development teams.
With the end of BioWare, the total number of studios closed after acquisitions in EA's history has reached 20. Among them, the list of the most well-known ones is as follows:
Maxis Studio: Masterpiece "The Sims"
West Wood Studio: "Command and Conquer" and "Dune"
Bullfrog Studios: "Dungeon Keeper"
Visceral Games: "Dead Space" Trilogy
BioWare: "Dragon Age" and "Mass Effect"
The remaining 15 companies are: Origin Systems, Batteries Included, Kesmai, Danger Close Games, Black Box Games, EA Chicago, Hypnotix, Mythic Entertainment, Phenomic Game Development, EA Salt Lake, Pandemic, J2MSoft, Playfish, Chillingo, Industrial Toys.
Since its inception, EA has closed the above 20 acquired studios. This phenomenon is alarming - being acquired by EA does not mean that the studio can survive safely. BioWare is undoubtedly the most important among these 20. Although the commercial performance of "Dragon Age: Shadowkeep" fell short of expectations, the studio itself still has creative potential. Many players believe that Mass Effect 5 would have a better ending if they were given the chance to complete it.
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