BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk has commented on the closure of the legendary RPG studio and the cancellation of the upcoming Mass Effect game. Although he described BioWare's closure as painful and sad, he admitted that he had already said his emotional goodbye to the company many years ago.
Electronic Arts announced the closure of BioWare last week, resulting in approximately 50 job losses. The decision was part of broader layoffs affecting around 400 EA employees. The studio's closure also brought an end to the upcoming Mass Effect game, which was reportedly titled Mass Effect: Universe, according to a leaked internal trailer.
Zeschuk founded BioWare alongside Ray Muzyka, and both left the studio in 2012, several months after the release of Mass Effect 3. According to Zeschuk, that was when he went through his own emotional farewell.
"I went through all those emotions a long time ago," he said. "You have to detach yourself from it and say, 'Okay, I've already had my emotional moment.'" He added that he now runs his own brewing business and considers the BioWare chapter of his life closed.
However, that does not mean he is indifferent to the current situation. "I'm not saying it doesn't hurt or that it doesn't suck. It's sad," he explained. He was particularly disappointed by the impact on Edmonton, the Canadian city where BioWare was founded.
Zeschuk believes BioWare demonstrated that developers could achieve international success even outside established gaming industry centers. Over the years, the studio created and contributed to major RPG franchises, including Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect, leaving a lasting impact on the genre.
Zeschuk was also unsurprised that BioWare closed just months after EA was acquired in a $55 billion deal. He described the takeover as the "final nail in the coffin" and pointed out that today's EA is a completely different company from the one he knew during his time at BioWare.
"BioWare makes unusual games that take a long time to develop and are complicated. In some ways, it's easier to release sports games every year, and it's a better business model," he said.
Zeschuk was even more outspoken when discussing the leadership of major gaming companies and the growing use of artificial intelligence. According to him, there is a misguided belief that successful games can easily be created by assembling random teams and relying on AI.
"There's this strange belief that you can just keep making great games with random people and AI. It doesn't work," he declared.
He also sees a problem with executives who rise through the business ranks of major corporations without gaining actual game development experience. "None of these people have ever made a game. They've never actually sat down and made one from start to finish, even if it was just a small project. They simply don't know how it works," he added.
Meanwhile, the closure of BioWare and the cancellation of Mass Effect: Universe have sparked strong reactions among players. Following the studio's shutdown, leaked materials have gradually emerged, revealing what the upcoming Mass Effect game was supposed to look like and how far development had progressed.
Composer Austin Wintory, for example, recently released 22 minutes of music he created during discussions with BioWare and EA about potentially working on the game. Meanwhile, fans continue campaigning to save Mass Effect through petitions, billboards, and other initiatives.
For Zeschuk, however, BioWare is already a closed chapter in his personal life. Nevertheless, he considers the studio's closure a significant loss not only for its former employees and fans, but also for Edmonton and the gaming industry as a whole.
