EA to acquire makers of Mass Effect and Mercenaries in $700 million deal.
EA has announced that it plans to acquire BioWare and Pandemic Studios, in what could end up being a $775 million deal. BioWare is best known for its work on RPGs, most notably Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic and the forthcoming Xbox 360 exclusive Mass Effect. Pandemic created Mercenaries and is currently working on Mercenaries 2 and Saboteur.
"These are two of the most respected studios in the industry and I'm glad to be working with them again. They'll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties," said John Riccitiello, EA's Chief Executive Officer. "We also expect this will drive long-term value for our shareholders."
AdvertisementThe deal is said to be completed by January 2008, with the two studios joining the EA Games label.
"We are truly excited by John Riccitiello's new vision for EA," said Ray Muzyka, Co-founder and CEO of BioWare Corp. "This vision is consistent with BioWare's focus on crafting the highest quality story-driven games in the world. It will enable us to further the careers of the passionate, creative and hard working teams at BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Austin."
Mass Effect will be unaffected by the deal, but the future of the series is in doubt; BioWare originally announced that Mass Effect would be the first in a trilogy of titles. Microsoft was unavailable for comment at time of writing.
Update: During a conference call with analysts EA has confirmed that the deal will mean that it will own the Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Mercenaries, Full Spectrum Warrior, and Saboteur properties.
Iain McC wrote at 14:52 on 12 October 2007
Of all the people to sell out to...
Why EA? WHY?WHY?WHY?
This is really not the news I wanted to be reading. Say goodbye to original, innovative RPGs, say hello to 100 hour working weeks and annual homogenised shiny shovelware shite with bugs aplenty...
I genuinely hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if we were reading news stories about "the new RPG from the ex-Biowarian stable Peon Works" in a couple of years' time...
wyp100 wrote at 15:05 on 12 October 2007
That's a bit cynical isn't it Iain, I mean look at EA's track record with original IP and innovation... oh wait. Scratch that. The world is ending.
Iain McC wrote at 15:38 on 12 October 2007
Past experience would indicate it's not ultimately going to be a positive move for Bioware - who probably don't care at this point, as they're SITTING ON A HUGE PILE OF CASH, HAVING MONEY EATING PARTIES.
From memory, only Maxis have really been able to survive a merger with EA with anything approaching their creative independence intact. But even that came at the price of THREE BILLION Sims expansion packs...
"The world is ending" is probably a bit of a melodramatic of putting it, but I don't think this kind of merger is a going to be great news for the quality of games that are going to be coming out of Bioware in 12-18 months time.
I would welcome being proved wrong, but... I expect to see an outflux of people from Bioware in the next 12 months.
Bloodstorm wrote at 19:57 on 12 October 2007
They took over Westwood......DESTROYED Red Alerts name......
They attempted to make their own servers on XBL, much to the dismay of Microsoft and gamers who have complained about how laggy they were.
They have now took over Bioware......the greatest Western RPG creator since Bethsada. Expect NO sequel but if they do happen, EXPECT what EA do best "metal" to appeal to 12 year old kids who have no idea what metal is or how it's done, expect NOTHING good to come out of this deal.
FantasyMeister wrote at 01:26 on 13 October 2007
For immediate release
LOS ANGELES, CALIF., - October 13th 2007 - In a groundbreaking new agreement Electronic Arts are proud to announce that Mass Effect 2008 is now in development and due for release during the 2008 holiday season.
As a sequel to the widely anticipated Bioware version of Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2008 will include all-new dynamic planetary weather systems, upgraded enemy unit rosters for the 2008 season and the patented Shot Confidence feature which allows you to select your weapon, trajectory, distance and more to determine your confidence heading into each battle.
With full ESPN ticker integration you'll never be short of the latest news whilst traversing the galaxy, and with the implementation of the dual-analogue melee swing types you can get up close and personal and deal maximum damage using just your thumbs.
EA has pulled out all the stops to bring in Hollywood's top scriptwriters so that the epic storyline can be continued - face off against arch galactic enemy Wiger Toods and battle with evil nemesis Mohn Jadden, take part in the online multiplayer Federation Internationale Forcefield Airship battles and visit the all-new Tolkien-themed cluster of planets.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2005, EA posted revenues of $3.1 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, POGO, Medal of Honor and Command & Conquer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U. S. and/or other countries. “The Lord of the Rings” and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a/ Tolkien Enterprises (“SZC”) under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
(Yes, I made this up).