Over the past decades, EA has become a master of acquiring well-known teams, which, after several years, lose their independence and are closed down. The scenario has been repeating since the late 1980s: the publisher buys talented developers, imposes corporate rules and trendy tendencies on them, and then gets rid of the studio if financial indicators do not meet expectations.
BioWare has joined a long list of teams.
- Batteries Included – acquired and closed in 1987.
- Origin Systems – acquired in 1992, closed in 2004.
- Bullfrog Productions – acquired in 1995, closed in 2001.
- Maxis – acquired in 1997, closed in 2015. The studio's name is still used by EA.
- Westwood Studios / EA Pacific – acquired in 1998, closed in 2003.
- Kesmai – acquired in 1999, closed in 2001.
- DreamWorks Interactive / Danger Close Games – acquired in 2000, closed in 2013.
- Black Box Games – acquired in 2002, closed in 2013.
- NuFX / EA Chicago – acquired in 2004, closed in 2007.
- Hypnotix – acquired and closed in 2005, employees transferred to EA Tiburon.
- Mythic Entertainment – acquired in 2006, closed in 2014.
- Phenomic Game Development – acquired in 2006, closed in 2013.
- Headgate Studios / EA Salt Lake – acquired in 2006, closed in 2017.
- Pandemic Studios – acquired in 2007, closed in 2009.
- BioWare – acquired in 2007, closed in 2026.
- J2MSoft – acquired in 2008, integrated into EA Korea.
- Playfish – acquired in 2009, closed in 2013.
- Chillingo – acquired in 2010, closure began in 2017 and completed in 2023.
- Industrial Toys – acquired in 2018, closed in 2023.
- BioWare – acquired in 2007, closed in 2026.
A change of ownership also does not inspire optimism: after transitioning to private investors, the company may focus on cost reduction and debt repayment, rather than on preserving teams and beloved game franchises.