BioWare shuts down, EA cuts hundreds, and GTA 6 preorders dwarf the decade

BioWare is closing down and Mass Effect 5 is cancelled, months after Saudi Arabia's reported $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts. EA is also cancelling an unannounced The Sims project, trimming the Skate team, and laying off around 400 workers in total — cuts that arrive alongside the company describing itself as the number one publisher in Western HD gaming. As a counterweight to the contraction, EA Sports confirmed it is developing an open-world football game, and reports suggest Respawn and DICE are working on Star Wars: Battlefront 3.

GTA 6 preorder numbers are reportedly dwarfing every other game this decade, underscoring how far ahead of the field Rockstar's next release sits in consumer anticipation. Xbox, meanwhile, is rolling out Cloud Playtime pricing to Insiders in three tiers, giving non-Game Pass members an hourly option for cloud gaming. Separately, Xbox employees who survive upcoming layoffs and live within 50 miles of an office will be required to spend more time there in person.

Helldivers 2's latest patch confirmed that turrets intentionally target players under certain conditions — a decision that has not gone over quietly in the community. Baldur's Gate 3 is getting an official sequel series, Subnautica 2 is expanding its early access with a scarier 'Early Access 2.0' update though no end date for that period is in sight, and World of Warcraft: Forever opened its servers for a free stress test ahead of launch. Nvidia also addressed one of PC gaming's persistent pain points, taking aim at shader compilation stuttering.