It's no secret that Bioware isn't the juggernaut it used to be. The studio had already lost some of its fans before Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda, so many feared that double punch would lead to Electronic Arts closing it down. That might be one of the reasons why what we'll just call Mass Effect 4 for the time being was announced and shown off years ago despite people already wondering why Dragon Age: Dreadwolf was taking so long. Well, we've seen what these kinds of hiring sprees and a split focus often lead to before, so it was only a matter of time before we got tonight's announcement.
Gary McKay, Bioware's General Manager, has announced that the studio is laying off approximately 50 employees. The reasoning behind this might seem a bit weird for some:
"In order to meet the needs of our upcoming projects, continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard of quality, and ensure BioWare can continue to thrive in an industry that's rapidly evolving, we must shift towards a more agile and more focused studio. It will allow our developers to iterate quickly, unlock more creativity, and form a clear vision of what we're building before development ramps up."
While it might seem strange to scale down to make Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 4 arrive faster, it makes sense looking at what I've heard from sources at the studio. I've spoken to more than 10 people at Bioware the last couple of years, and all of them have said that one of the main reasons for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf taking so long is that there are too many chefs in the kitchen. The project has basically been rebooted a handful om times, which means core systems have to be remade and/or added. This has apparently taken unusually long to do because approvals and ideas have to go through "an exhausting" amount of steps, leading the many parts of the team sitting on their hands waiting for the go-ahead.
So this is a good news - bad news situation. The bad news is that 50 people will lose their jobs (hopefully they'll find new ones at another EA studio or elsewhere really quick). The good news is that this hopefully means the development of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 4 will go a lot better and faster moving forward.