BioWare co-founders retire, announces new Mass Effect game and IP

BioWare co-founders retire, announces new Mass Effect game and IP

In surprising blog post over at BioWare’s site, the two co-founders, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka have announced plans to retire from the gaming industry. To ease the minds of many gamers out there BioWare has published server posts about the state of things, including the future of the studio.

The story behind Zeschuk and Muzyka is fairly well known in the industry in that they started down the path of being doctors but ended up pursuing their passion for video games with such notable titles as Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age and Mass Effect under their belts.

In Zeschuk’s post , he revealed that he started to think about retiring back in early April of this year and made the difficult decision to pursue something new.

This decision isn’t without significant pain and regret, but it’s also something I know I need to do, for myself and my family. I’ve reached an unexpected point in my life where I no longer have the passion that I once did for the company, for the games, and for the challenge of creation.

Zeschuk will be pursuing his dream of brewing beer as well as spending time with his friends and family. He will also be working on a web-based show where he will be interviewing notable brewers called “The Beer Diaries.”

In Muzyka’s post , he revealed that he will be pursing entrepreneurship. Apparently his next focus will be in investing and mentoring new entrepreneurs in the field of social/impact investing.

In a more recent BioWare post, Aaryn Flynn , general manager of BioWare Edmonton and Montreal assured fans that the studio will continue to move forward keeping the founder’s standards and culture intact.

Flynn gave his farewell to the two doctors, but also talked a little about the new and exciting projects being worked on at the studio. As revealed previously, the studio is currently working on Dragon Age III: Inquisition and will be releasing multiple story and multiplayer DLCs for Mass Effect 3.

In addition, Flynn revealed that Casey Hudson and his team is working on a brand newMass Effect game that will tell a new story.

But the Mass Effect universe is vast, and Casey and our teams have plans for another full game. “Where to go next?” with such a project has been a question a lot of us have been asking, and we’d all love to hear your ideas.

Another surprising announcement was made when Flynn revealed that the studio was also working on a brand new IP, with Hudson overseeing development. Apparently, the new IP will take place in a new fictional universe, built from the ground up with new technology.

In closing, Flynn had this to say reassure fans that BioWare will continue to run on all cylinders:

Ray and Greg built BioWare to last. They’ve always known their retirement would come one day, so they developed a team of people who would ensure their standards and culture would endure. We’ll humbly carry that torch and continue learning in the process.

SOURCE:GAMER.BLOGURE