Word has come out that Electronic Arts has pulled the trigger on a merger between BioWare Montreal (the studio behind Mass Effect: Andromeda) and Motive Studios, one of EA’s youngest studios.
EA confirmed the news after a spokesman responded to earlier statements that were supposedly made during EA’s quarterly conference call by CFO Blake Jorgensen. EA confirmed the news with the following statement:
“The teams in EA Worldwide Studios are packed with talent, and more than ever, we’re driving collaboration between studios on key projects. With multiple major projects in development in Montreal, we are merging BioWare Montreal with Motive Studios. This is an ongoing process, but there are many exciting roles and opportunities for everyone on the team.”
BioWare continues its work on new titles – including the highly-anticipated game, Anthem. What’s coming next for BioWare is very exciting, and we’re thrilled to have Casey Hudson returning to lead the studios in Edmonton and Austin.”
Jade Raymond (known for acting as producer for the original Assassin’s Creed) is currently heading Motive Studios, working on both the campaign for Star Wars: Battlefront II and a yet-to-be-titled Star Wars-related action/adventure game. BioWare Montreal had supposedly been scaled down earlier this year due to Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s problematic launch and underwhelming sales and reception, which would likely also have been the reason behind the merger of the two studios.
BioWare Austin and BioWare Edmonton remain unaffected by this merger, continuing work on Star Wars: The Old Republic, Anthem and a yet-to-be-announced title by Edmonton.
A special thanks goes out to the team at Techraptor, who broke the news earlier today.
