Following BioWare’s closure, there is now an updated list of the development studios that Electronic Arts first acquired and later shut down.
Electronic Arts has shut down the development studio BioWare. But the developers of *Mass Effect* and *Dragon Age* aren’t the first team to suffer this fate under the publisher’s leadership.
We have an updated list of the studios that were once acquired by Electronic Arts but were later shut down. It includes some prominent names, such as Bullfrog, Origin, and DreamWorks Interactive. It was particularly harsh for Pandemic Studios, which had to shut its doors just one year after being acquired by Electronic Arts.
Here’s an overview:
- Bioware (Mass Effect) – Acquired in 2007, closed in October 2026
- Chillingo (WarFriends) – Acquired in 2010, closed in 2023
- Industrial Toys (Battlefield Mobile) – Acquired in 2018, closed in January 2023
- Slightly Mad Studios (Project Cars) – Acquired in 2021, closed in November 2022
- Codemasters Cheshire (Dirt 5) – Acquired in 2021, closed in May 2022
- Headgate Studios (Tiger Woods PGA Tour) – Acquired in 2006, closed in 2017
- Maxis (SimCity) – Acquired in 1997, closed in March 2015
- Mythic Entertainment (Dark Age of Camelot) – Acquired in 2006, closed in 2014
- Bullfrog (Dungeon Keeper) – Acquired in 1995, closed in 2001
- Origin (Wing Commander) – Acquired in 1992, closed in 2004
- Westwood (Command & Conquer) – Acquired in 1998, closed in 2003
- Danger Close/EA Los Angeles (Medal of Honor) – Acquired in 2000, closed in 2013
- Phenomic (SpellForce) – Acquired in 2006, closed in 2013
- Black Box Games (Need for Speed) – Acquired in 2002, closed in 2013
- Pandemic (The Saboteur) – Acquired in 2008, closed in 2009
- PlayFish (The Sims Social) – Acquired in 2009, closed in 2013
- NuFX (NBA Street) – Acquired in 2004, closed in 2007
In 2026, EA itself was acquired: a Saudi Arabian-controlled conglomerate purchased the publisher. What this means for the future of the company and its game brands remains unclear:
Incidentally, the list above is missing quite a few prominent studio names that Electronic Arts once founded itself but later shut down. These include Visceral Games (Dead Space), Cliffhanger Games (Marvel’s Black Panther), and Ridgeline Games (Battlefield).
