Layoffs Hit at Austin BioWare

Today it was announced there would be layoffs at Bioware Austin, the team that was responsible for Star Wars: The Old Republic. EA referred to the layoffs as part of a restructuring plan and that some of the employees that were laid off would be reassigned to other projects within the organization. EA was mum on exactly how many employees were officially released though. The official statement:

"BioWare has restructured its studio in Austin today. Of the employees impacted, some will be able to join other projects within EA, others will leave the company. These are very difficult decisions, but it allows us to focus our staff to maintain and grow Star Wars: The Old Republic," "BioWare Austin remains a large and important part of BioWare and EA, working with other studios around the world to continue to deliver a high-quality service and exciting new content for Star Wars: The Old Republic."

According to EA the last few months have not been kind to the company as Star Wars: The Old Republic has lost close to 400,000 subscription members. Apparently since the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic EA has gone from 1.7 million subscribers to 1.3 million, and who knows if that number is still declining. It has been a rough couple of months to say the least for Bioware, with the Mass Effect 3 ending controversy, Star Wars: The Old Republic loosing subscribers fast, and now the layoffs. It will be interesting to see what Bioware's nest move is, as they have only DLC scheduled for Mass Effect 3, and as of right now Bioware is not developing a game. In my opinion Bioware will need their next game to almost be perfect to win fans back after the backlash of Dragon Age II and Mass Effect 3; personally I am hoping for a new IP or Jade Empire 2.