Publishing giant EA is merging Mass Effect: Andromeda developer BioWare Montreal and Motive Studios.
Company CFO Blake Jorgensen confirmed the news during a recent earnings call, and explained both studios will be linking up in a new Montreal office.
According to Jorgensen, the new opening has already been filled out with over 100 fresh faces, and will now serve as the home for both BioWare Montreal and Motive.
“We’re building out a new studio in Montreal, and we’ve hired over 100 people into that studio that are brand-new to EA. This is to build the new IP around Jade Raymond’s team that she’s been building,” he explained.
“I was in that studio last month. And it’s a wonderful new addition to our team. And we brought our BioWare Montreal team into that same facility.”
EA Motive was founded by Assassin’s Creed producer Raymond, and is currently working on Star Wars Battlefront II alongside EA DICE and Criterion Games.
The Canadian outfit is also helping Visceral Games polish off its unannounced Star Wars project, which is being overseen by former Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig.
BioWare Montreal was the team responsible for re-imagining the Mass Effect franchise after the original trilogy came to an end. Andromeda, however, proved to be a tough sell, and suffered at launch due to a lack of polish.
It’s worth noting that many of those issues have since been ironed out in subsequent patches, and despite rumors suggesting EA has shelved the series, the Montreal team continues to release updates.