Canadian political party leader blames BioWare's closure on private equity, says government should help former employees buy it back

In the wake of EA's tragic shuttering of BioWare last week, a leader of one of Canada's New Democratic Party has spoken out about the perils of private equity, and said BioWare employees should be able to buy the studio with "federal support".

Avi Lewis, head of Canada's NDP, took to Bluesky to decry the news of BioWare's closure. He wrote: "This is private equity, this is what it does. Buy up businesses, run them into the ground, and rip them apart for short-term profit."

He then moves on to the idea of a studio buyback, writing: "The developers at BioWare know how to run the studio. They know how to make the games we all love. They should be given the first opportunity - and the federal support - to buy it and run it themselves."

The combined statement against private equity and for the BioWare employees is no coincidence. EA was recently acquired through a record-breaking leveraged buyout by Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group as well as US president Donald Trump's Son-in-law Jared Kushner's private equity firm. Months later, not only did BioWare close, but 400 employees lost their jobs across a variety of studios including Respawn, Maxis, Full Circle, and more.

We're seeing a growing number of politicians speak on the video game industry issues in recent years. In September, a Mexican lawmaker pushed for better consumer rights for digital goods in the wake of Sony's push away from discs. Late last year, a similar situation occurred, where Concord's swift shutdown was brought up in British parliament, in a discussion on consumer rights protections, as was Rockstar's ongoing tribunal involving fired workers. This is perhaps not surprising, as a new generation of more digitally aware politicians come into positions of influence and the need to appeal to younger voters invested in the video games industry becomes more necessary.

Lewis was far from the only person to share their thoughts on BioWare's closure. Many across the games industry shared their sadness ,frustration, and support last week. This included key figures from Larian, CD Projekt Red, and even Warren Spector.