Former BioWare employees suing for ‘adequate severance’

04.10.2023 - 16:35 / polygon.com / Gary Mackay

Former Dragon Age: Dreadwolf developers from BioWare are suing the company for “better severance,” according to a statement released by a group of seven ex-employees. Former BioWare technical director Jon Renish published the statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

BioWare general manager Gary McKay announced 50 job cuts at the studio in August in what he called a move toward a “more agile and more focused studio.” McKay said at the time that its layoff process would be “handled with empathy, respect, and clear communication.” But former employees say the company hasn’t provided “adequate severance” for its former workers, many of whom have been with the company for years. The seven former employees suing the company have an average of 14 years at BioWare, they said in the statement, and are looking for better severance that reflects their contributions.

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“While we remain supportive of the game we worked so hard on, and of our colleagues continuing that work, we are struggling to understand why BioWare is shortchanging us in this challenging time,” one former worker said in a statement.

Alberta courts have recently awarded laid off employees “at least one month of severance pay per year of service, with the full value of all benefits included,” the workers said — much more than what BioWare reportedly offered. Though some laid off workers attempted to negotiate, BioWare refused to budge. The seven employees filed a lawsuit with Alberta, Canada’s Court of King’s Bench to get their “fair severance pay” and damages for “unreasonably poor treatment by BioWare.”

R. Alexander Kennedy, the former BioWare workers’ lawyer, said that BioWare may have included an “illegal provision” in contracts — specifically, ones that keep benefits out of its severance pay, he said. “These people are artists and creators who have worked very hard and for a very long time in a difficult industry, producing big profits for their employer,” Kennedy said. “Their termination without cause en masse like this calls for a response.”

During these layoffs, BioWare (owned by EA), also cut ties with Keywords Studio, which was providing QA and playtesting for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. An Electronic Arts representative said it could not reach an agreement for a new contract with the company. In June 2022, BioWare contractors at Keywords Studios’ Edmonton, Canada, location voted yes to unionize.

Polygon has reached out to BioWare and a representative for the group of seven laid off workers for comment. We’ll update this story when we hear back.