EA's BioWare is laying off around 50 people from the studio.

In a post on its website, the developer's general manager Gary McKay wrote that this decision had been made to make the studio "more agile and more focused" to allow it to thrive.

"To achieve this, we find ourselves in a position where change is not only necessary, but unavoidable. As difficult as this is to say, rethinking our approach to development inevitably means reorganizing our team to match the studio’s changing needs," McKay wrote.

"As part of this transition, we are eliminating approximately 50 roles at BioWare. That is deeply painful and humbling to write. We are doing everything we can to ensure the process is handled with empathy, respect, and clear communication. With that last point in mind, I want to take a moment to explain how we got here, what we’re doing to support our colleagues, and what this means for BioWare’s current and future games."

Speaking to VentureBeat, an EA spokesperson said that the company hasn't been able to come to an agreement with services giant Keywords. Workers at the firm's Edmonton quality assurance division voted to form a union in 2022.