Bioware being closed probably has much more to do with EA than Bioware. Maybe if they sold tens of millions, they would have been kept. Remember EA was bought by private investors, with the intent of trimming down costs https://www.polygon.com/ea-layoffs-leveraged-buyout-debt-18-billion/

@BruceVC, Solasta I is on sale in Steam. Base game 75% off. Bundle with all DLCs 53% off.

1 hour ago, MrBrown said:

Bioware being closed probably has much more to do with EA than Bioware. Maybe if they sold tens of millions, they would have been kept. Remember EA was bought by private investors, with the intent of trimming down costs https://www.polygon.com/ea-layoffs-leveraged-buyout-debt-18-billion/

I'd suspect they'd have tried selling Bioware off (specifically to MS) if they'd been bought out a year or so ago, and may have tried selling them even now had Veilguard done better. That does after all free them from any severance payments and the like as well as generate some money.

Given the current climate among almost all the big players- and the Mass Effect game not being very far along for all the time spent- there would not be a buyer though, now.

Edited 22 hours ago22 hr by Zoraptor

7 hours ago, kanisatha said:

@BruceVC, Solasta I is on sale in Steam. Base game 75% off. Bundle with all DLCs 53% off.

Thanks. I will buy it

Thats a good a deal as reasonably possible 👍

17 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

If the dumbing down/ mass market appeal was the ultimate problem* it most certainly started before EA were involved. Before Elevation Partners too.

It probably did start before EA, seeing as how DA:O turned out.

17 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

*Not sure at all it was the problem, though it contributed. See Bethesda for the counter; the dumber their games got the more successful they were. DAO was still relatively complex compared to, say F4. Which was less successful than Skyrim, but it was always going to be. I'd argue it was the staleness that ultimately did for Bioware, and which is causing a lot of troubles for Bethesda as well- there is nothing quite as bad for killing enthusiasm as being 5 hours into a game and feeling like you've been playing 100. That staleness is also self limiting when it comes to market size: you're only appealing to those who already like Bioware (Bethesda) and those of them who aren't now turned off by the Bioware Magic.

I think bad games killed Bioware. It was hard to recover after Anthem, Andromeda and finally The Veilguard. The games were comically bad when compared to what came before them. Why that happened is anyone's guess. Either EA influence or key people leaving Bioware and not being involved in the making of said game. The game could have work if they focused on their niche and executed on it, instead of trying to make a game that appeals to everyone. Veilguard ended being a mobile game wannabe...

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by Sarex

8 hours ago, BruceVC said:

Thanks. I will buy it

Thats a good a deal as reasonably possible 👍

@Gfted1

This is the same special price as before, it ends on the 2 November

Save 53% on Solasta - Lightbringers Edition on Steam

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by BruceVC

On 10/26/2026 at 7:43 PM, Zoraptor said:

Bioware was well regarded within the RPG genre but the RPG genre was not 'big' enough for what was wanted for Bioware by either EA or Ray and Greg.

So in general, I think in the past I would agree with sentiments express by yourself and Sarex. Baldur's Gate1&2 were the titles that introduced me to cRPG and captured my imagination. BG2 was the first one, and it opened my imagination to what this game could be if expanded further - more reactivity, more choices, more nuanced morality system. However, Bioware never went in the direction I wanted. Tim Cain did with Fallout and Arcanum. Obsidian did with KOTOR2, New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity. In a hindsight, I don't think Bioware strength and objective was in making complex "ambitious" RPGs. It was in taking an RPG and infusing it with an approachable, blockbuster presentation. Success of BG2 didn't lie in being the most sophisticated RPG to date - it was being flashy and approachable enough, that 14 years old me with no D&D familiarity could pick the game up and had a blast going through adventures they crafted. I think Bioware's power always lied in making cRPGs mainstream. I do think at some point they went too far - to me Mass Effect3 was the point where the choices were limited and simplified to the point where they stopped being engaging - the game moved from being RPG-lite/action hybrid to being just a mediocre action game, but again - I suspect production pressures, more than intent.

Honestly, I just think at some point Bioware stopped being able to keep up in a genre they started. Narrative action RPGs in various forms became a thing outside Bioware - and something like CDPR set a new standard. I don't think Bioware could compete with something like Witcher3 or Horizon or God of War, and backpedaling and trying to reestablish themselves in a AA RPG niche just wasn't an option.

6 hours ago, BruceVC said:

This is the same special price as before, it ends on the 2 November

IsThereAnyDeal

Solasta: Crown of the Magister - Lightbringers Edition

Well, it was £3 cheaper at the beginning of the month..... 😁

Austin Wintory's (best known for his Journey OST) mockups for Mass Effect5 job.