Star Wars Battlefront 3 Is Why EA Shut Down BioWare

Mass Effect: Universe And BioWare Killed To Make Room For Battlefront 3 Published Oct 30, 2026, 10:14 AM EDT George is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer, and has been working in the industry since 2021 after graduating from the University of South Wales with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. He has also previously written for RPG Site, WhatCulture, and PlayStation Lifestyle. George is an expert on platformers, action games, and fighters, but tends to play as many releases as possible. This hands-on experience lets him dive into gaming communities and follow the latest trends. Some of the games George has extensively covered first-hand include Dead Rising, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Ninja Gaiden 4. Sign in to your TheGamer account A new report has claimed that the main reason EA shut down BioWare and cancelled Mass Effect: Universe was because of the opportunity to work with Disney on Star Wars Battlefront 3. 2026 has been a rough year for gaming as a whole, but easily one of the most gutting bits of news to happen so far is the surprise death of BioWare. Although the Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer has had some undeniably shaky times over the past two console generations, the promise of a new Mass Effect made it seem like it had a lot more stability and time. Of course, that's not what ended up happening, as both BioWare and the since-leaked Mass Effect: Universe were shut down out of nowhere earlier this month. It didn't take a genius to figure out that EA's expensive buyout was partly to blame, but it turns out that there's something much more depressing we can point fingers at - Battlefront 3. EA Chose To Make Battlefront 3 Over Mass Effect: Universe And Keeping BioWare Around That's Going To Make It Hard To Be Excited, Huh? Earlier today, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier shared a report that details why exactly BioWare was shut down by EA. Schreier claims that the "main factor" was the opportunity to work with Lucasfilm on the as-yet unannounced Star Wars Battlefront 3. That chance arrived just as EA was about to face serious financial troubles after the buyout, which left it with $18 billion in debt. After reviewing EA's lineup, executives saw two sci-fi action games that were "projected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars", that being Battlefront 3 and Mass Effect: Universe. That led to EA making the decision to invest in Battlefront 3 and shut down both BioWare and the next Mass Effect. While you can choose to blame Battlefront 3 for BioWare's death, we know where the blame really lies. Looking at those two games and just seeing "sci-fi action" says it all. Schreier goes on to confirm that Battlefront 3 hasn't even started development yet, but that EA saw it as a "less risky, more predictable bet" than a new Mass Effect. Even with fan support making it clear how well Universe was likely to do, it seemingly isn't enough when the other option is a brand-new Star Wars game, and a shooter at that.