EA closing down studios they buy is the expected inevitable outcome
Anyone who lets EA acquire them deserves this. It’s not even a secret, so fuck everyone at BioWare who sold their company to this. You can be sad, but you don’t get to be surprised
Batteries Included – Purchased in 1987 and closed that same year.
Origin Systems – Purchased in 1992. Closed in 2004.
Bullfrog Productions – Purchased in 1995. Closed in 2001.
Maxis – Purchased in 1997. Closed in 2015. (Studio name still used by EA.)
Westwood Studios / EA Pacific – Purchased in 1998. Closed in 2003.
Kesmai – Purchased in 1999. Closed in 2001.
DreamWorks Interactive / Danger Close Games – Purchased in 2000. Closed in 2013.
Black Box Games – Purchased in 2002. Closed in 2013.
NuFX / EA Chicago – Purchased in 2004. Closed in 2007.
Hypnotix – Purchased and shut down in 2005. Team folded into EA Tiburon.
Mythic Entertainment – Purchased in 2006. Closed in 2014.
Phenomic Game Development – Purchased in 2006. Closed in 2013.
Headgate Studios / EA Salt Lake – Purchased in 2006. Closed in 2017.
Pandemic Studios – Purchased in 2007. Closed in 2009.
J2MSoft – Purchased in 2008 and folded into EA Korea.
Playfish – Purchased in 2009. Closed in 2013.
Chillingo – Purchased in 2010. Began shutting down in 2017. Fully closed in 2023.
Industrial Toys – Purchased in 2018. Closed in 2023.
BioWare – Purchased in 2007. Closed in 2026.
Just to push back on this, this is long overdue.
EA closing down studios they buy is the expected inevitable outcome
Anyone who lets EA acquire them deserves this. It’s not even a secret, so fuck everyone at BioWare who sold their company to this. You can be sad, but you don’t get to be surprised
Batteries Included – Purchased in 1987 and closed that same year. Origin Systems – Purchased in 1992. Closed in 2004. Bullfrog Productions – Purchased in 1995. Closed in 2001. Maxis – Purchased in 1997. Closed in 2015. (Studio name still used by EA.) Westwood Studios / EA Pacific – Purchased in 1998. Closed in 2003. Kesmai – Purchased in 1999. Closed in 2001. DreamWorks Interactive / Danger Close Games – Purchased in 2000. Closed in 2013. Black Box Games – Purchased in 2002. Closed in 2013. NuFX / EA Chicago – Purchased in 2004. Closed in 2007. Hypnotix – Purchased and shut down in 2005. Team folded into EA Tiburon. Mythic Entertainment – Purchased in 2006. Closed in 2014. Phenomic Game Development – Purchased in 2006. Closed in 2013. Headgate Studios / EA Salt Lake – Purchased in 2006. Closed in 2017. Pandemic Studios – Purchased in 2007. Closed in 2009. J2MSoft – Purchased in 2008 and folded into EA Korea. Playfish – Purchased in 2009. Closed in 2013. Chillingo – Purchased in 2010. Began shutting down in 2017. Fully closed in 2023. Industrial Toys – Purchased in 2018. Closed in 2023. BioWare – Purchased in 2007. Closed in 2026.
Developers don’t decide who acquires them.
That’s why it is sad. You have a really good team and the money hungry management sells them out. That is sad.