BioWare co-founder calls EA buyout final blow after studio closure

A co-founder of Canadian video game developer BioWare has stated that the buyout of publisher Electronic Arts was the final nail in the coffin for the studio, according to GamesRadar. The reaction follows reports by French outlet BFMTV that new management asked developers to remove a flag from a Mass Effect 5 pitch video because it looked too similar to the LGBTQIA+ flag, Destructoid reported. [1][2][3]

The details follow a US$55 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts completed on August 4, 2026, by a consortium including the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. Destructoid reported that BioWare had submitted new pitch videos for Mass Effect 5 to the new management before the game was canceled. [2][4]

As FTMQ Gaming reported earlier, Electronic Arts closed the Edmonton-based studio and canceled the next Mass Effect title during an internal restructuring that laid off an estimated 400 employees. BioWare was originally founded in February 1995 by Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip before being acquired by Electronic Arts in 2007. [5][6][7]

Following the studio's closure, Canadian New Democratic Party leader Avi Lewis proposed that the government help former BioWare staff buy the developer back from Electronic Arts, as FTMQ Gaming reported earlier. [7]