Industry veteran Warren Spector has escalated his criticism of Electronic Arts' decision to close BioWare, expressing renewed anger over executive compensation and a perceived lack of accountability within the gaming industry.
Spector, who previously called the closure "bullshit," stated in a new LinkedIn post that the situation at BioWare affected him on an emotional level. He expressed frustration with those who dismissed his concerns by framing BioWare's closure as a purely "sound business decision," arguing that such viewpoints miss the core issue: the consequences faced by executives versus those faced by developers.
"If studio-level people leave, resulting in dilution of talent, someone is creating an environment that pushes them out. Do those culture-killers pay any price?" Spector questioned. "If executives misread the market, over-hire, or make decisions that result in under-funded, over-funded, poorly-marketed games, do they lose sleep, let alone jobs?"
He specifically highlighted the total compensation figures for EA's top executives in fiscal year 2026, noting significant increases from the previous year. These figures included CEO Andrew Wilson at $38.65 million, president Laura Miele at $13.7 million, CFO Stuart Canfield at $11.3 million, chief legal officer Jake Schatz at $8.4 million, and chief people officer Mala Singh at $8.3 million.
These executive raises reportedly came despite layoffs at studios involved in Battlefield 6 and the closure of Ridgeline Games, which was working on a Battlefield title. Spector contrasted the high executive earnings with the precarious employment of "tens of thousands of do-ers and makers" who are left unemployed.
"Is there ANY accountability left in this world?" Spector asked, concluding that those who view the situation purely through the lens of "sound business decisions" should not be in leadership positions. The article notes that shareholder pushback against such executive compensation packages is historically rare, with a low failure rate for pay hike proposals.