Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
BBC News's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
- Published
BioWare, the video game studio behind sci-fi epic Mass Effect and fantasy saga Dragon Age, has been closed down.
asserted
BioWare → publish → Effect
The Canadian developer specialising in role-playing games was founded in 1995 and found millions of fans with its complex, branching narratives.
asserted
developer → specialise → narratives
Its last two releases, however, did not meet sales expectations, and parent company Electronic Arts (EA) announced it had decided to close the studio as it cut 400 jobs across the business.
asserted
it → meet → business
In its own statement, BioWare, which was working on a new Mass Effect game, thanked players for "being the most important part of the story" during its 31-year history.
asserted
which → work → history
The developer's first big taste of success came in 1998 when it released role-playing game Baldur's Gate, based on Dungeons and Dragons rules.
asserted
it → come → rules
It became renowned for the quality of its games and in the late 2000s had huge, twin successes with the Mass Effect trilogy and several Dragon Age games.
asserted
It → become → trilogy
Mass Effect in particular is regarded as having a long-lasting influence on the video game industry thanks to its ambitious narrative and inclusion of same-sex relationships.
asserted
Effect → regard → relationships
As industry trends changed, BioWare pivoted from single player to multiplayer games with the release of Anthem in 2019 - which disappointed fans and critics.
asserted
which → change → fans
It followed up with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the fourth game in the series, in 2024.
asserted
It → follow → 2024
The game's protracted development cycle was blamed for its lukewarm reviews - particularly from long-time series fans, who complained it lacked the complex moral choices of its prequels.
asserted
it → blame → prequels
The studio's closure comes months after EA - the video game giant responsible for series including EA FC, The Sims and Battlefield - was bought for $55bn by a Saudi Arabia-led group of investors.
asserted
EA → come → investors
As part of the deal, EA took on $20bn in debt, which the company will have to pay back.
asserted
company → take → which
In a message to staff, since published on its website, the company said it had taken a "hard look" at its business and chosen to focus on key titles and series.
asserted
it → publish → titles
This meant working on "fewer simultaneous, large-scale projects in the action-adventure space", it said, confirming that a new Iron Man game and a Star Wars Jedi title were being worked on.
The company said it had two projects in development under its EA Sports banner, including a "social-first" American Football game code-named "Project Gridiron", and said it was in the early stages of resurrecting boxing simulator Fight Night.
asserted
it → mean → Night
EA also said it was committed to the long-term success of skateboarding simulator Skate, and The Sims.
asserted
it → say → Skate
However, it did announce the cancellation of one new Sims project, and said there would be job cuts at Skate developer Full Circle.
asserted
it → announce → Circle
The company said BioWare was "a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly".
asserted
we → say → decision
The Aporia
