Ending months of uncertainty, Mass Effect: Andromeda developer BioWare Montreal merges with EA Motive

After months of speculation about the studio’s future, Mass Effect Andromeda developer BioWare Montreal has merged with Jade Raymond’s EA’s Motive Studios.

Speaking to Tech Raptor, a spokesman from EA detailed the situation saying, “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.”

Rumors has swirled about BioWare Montreal’s staff being slimmed down since the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda, which was greeted with a lukewarm reception by fans and critics alike (ourselves included). Today’s news seems to confirm an earlier report by Kotaku that members the team were being shifted to EA Motive as recently as this May.

If nothing else, it seems BioWare Montreal should feel right at home with EA Motive. After all,  the team are presently working hard on Star Wars Battlefront 2 (read our E3 impressions here), as well as an as-of-yet unnamed game in the Star Wars universe inspired by Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series. That said, we imagine EA Motive will be putting BioWare Montreal’s considerable experience in dealing with a vast sci-fi universe to good use.

While the future of the Mass Effect franchise may be uncertain with this merger, BioWare still has their hands full. The developer’s Edmonton studio is currently at work on their ambitious cooperative shooter Anthem, which made big waves at E3 back in June.  The game, which is powered by DICE’s powerful Frostbite engine, is slated to release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2018.

In case you missed it, check out the game’s announcement trailer below:

So, what are your thoughts on this shakeup at BioWare? Do you think this spells bad news for the future of the Mass Effect franchise as a whole? As always, be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section.