Get Woke, Go Broke: BioWare Shuts Down After Woke Dragon Age Flop
BioWare, one of the most storied studios in the video game industry, announced this week that it is shutting down after 30 years. The closure comes as the industry endures a brutal 2026, with critics arguing that years of politically driven content have driven away the very gamers studios depend on.
The numbers paint a grim picture. Around 13,000 game developers are expected to lose their jobs this year alone, and more than 57,000 industry workers have been cut since 2022 amid collapsing revenues and fading consumer interest. Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, EA, and a dozen other studios have all been trimming staff.
One of the most recent examples is Xbox’s large round of cuts at Bethesda Softworks. Those layoffs, reportedly close to 440 workers, set off protests and accusations that LGBT and minority employees were being targeted.
Most of these layoffs have been officially blamed on “restructuring,” but critics say that restructuring was driven by a steep drop in gamer interest, which they tie to an ongoing consumer boycott of politically charged messaging in games. In their view, most studios that “get woke” ultimately “go broke.”
BioWare made the closure official in a post on X on October 21. According to critics, the studio began leaning heavily into progressive messaging around 2016-2017, and its fortunes steadily declined from there. Many point to Dragon Age: Veilguard as the final nail in the coffin. The game was widely criticized and mocked for its heavy emphasis on LGBT themes, and it remains a target of online ridicule today.
Veilguard was the last game BioWare released before the studio hit bottom. Industry boosters and activists initially insisted the game was selling well, despite evidence to the contrary. Its development and marketing reportedly cost around $250 million and took roughly nine years, yet most estimates suggest it brought in less than $50 million in total sales.
Parent company Electronic Arts (EA) is now scrapping the studio. At its peak, BioWare employed about 500 people. By the time of the October 2026 closure announcement, only around 50 remained, and all of them are being laid off.
The lesson critics draw is blunt: studios that want to survive past 2026 have to accept that consumers hold the power. Gamers cannot be forced or shamed into buying products, and games are not a platform for developers’ personal politics. As they see it, studios can either make games that the audience they once dismissed as “chuds” actually wants to play, or go broke and be replaced.
