Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck announced yesterday that they will be retiring from BioWare. The duo met in medical school, but after graduating they decided to take a chance and pursue their dream of making video games. In 1995 they founded BioWare and since then they have been the driving force behind many renowned games including: Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter’s Night, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Star Wars: The Old Republic, the Dragon Age series, and the Mass Effect series. BioWare had gone through several changes over the years, most notably in 2007 when they were acquired by Electronic Arts. Both Muzyka and Zeschuck made it clear that their retirement has nothing to do with any problems or concerns with EA. According to Muzyka, his this was a decision that was made and shared with EA back in April and there is no ill will among any of the parties involved.
Muzyka and Zeschuck both made personal statements on the BioWare Blog thanking their supporters. Zeschuck states he will be taking some time off to spend with family and from there he will be working on some ‘personal, passion driven projects’. At this time he is unsure if he will ever return to the video game industry, but he does not rule it out. Muzyka says that this is goodbye for good when it comes to video games. He plans on putting his time and effort into new entrepreneurial ventures that create positive societal impacts.
BioWare Edmonton and Montreal’s General Manager, Aaryn Flynn, also made a post regarding the doctors’ retirement and the future direction of the company. There is, of course, this week’s announcement of Dragon Age 3: Inquisition. Mass Effect 3 is going to be getting more multiplayer and single player DLC to be released over the next six months. It is also confirmed that there will be another full length title from the Mass Effect universe on the way. Lastly, Flynn stated that Casey Hudson, the Executive Producer of the Mass Effect franchise, and his team are working on a brand new title that is being built from the ground up using ‘all new gaming technology’.
You can read all three full blog entries at blog.bioware.com for more details.
