EA: Publisher laments loss of key game developers

It’s not a pretty pre-Christmas present for Electronic Arts (EA). The gigantic publisher, which stands for titles like Battlefield, Fifa and Dragon Age, is losing important developers. Especially at the two important studios Dice and Bioware, well-known employees are leaving. Affected are thus especially the brands Battlefield and Dragon Age.

Dice needs a new game designer

It is quite noticeable that the leading developers have turned their backs on EA almost simultaneously. Among the affected employees is Fawzi Mesmar, who was responsible for Battlefield 2042 at Swedish developer studio Dice. He was in charge of the game design of the worldwide known and very popular shooter. But that was not all. He also put his own stamp on successful titles such as Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Battlefield 5.

The reason for the departure is not said to be internal squabbles. According to the colleagues of Videogames Chronicles, it was rather triggered by a contract offer from another studio. However, Mesmar was granted by his new employer to remain at Dice until the completion of Battlefield 2042. The Swedish developer studio is also said to have been informed about Mesmar’s planned departure.

Bioware loses creative director

As if the bad news from Sweden wasn’t bad enough, there is no better news for EA from Canada either. Locally, Matt Goldman, creative director at Bioware, wants to vacate his post. Bioware is a real traditional studio of EA. Classics like Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic (short: KOTOR) were created here. Goldman himself was primarily responsible for the role-playing epic Dragon Age 4 in recent years.

In the context of Goldman’s dismissal at Bioware, the head of the development team addressed the staff with an internal mail. He made it clear that Goldman’s departure would naturally have an impact on the development of Dragon Age 4. However, although he wants to turn his back on the role-playing game company, the quality of the final result should not suffer. After all, the email from the boss, which industry expert Kotaku published, went on to say:

“We will not deliver a game that does not meet Bioware’s standards”

Release of Dragon Age 4 postponed

Goldman’s resignation should, of course, have an impact on the release of the long-awaited role-playing game. Officially, the title was announced back in 2018. A release had been planned for the second quarter of 2022. Now the developer studio is talking about Dragon Age 4 not launching before 2023. This emerges from internal documents from Bioware.