BioWare Co-Founder Calls Out Controversial Publisher

Greg Zeschuk, one of the founders of BioWare, expressed some strong opinions about Electronic Arts (EA), the massive game publisher that acquired the renowned studio in 2007.

During that period, the transaction sparked quite a debate. After all, BioWare had built a reputation for delivering exceptional role-playing games with captivating narratives, including titles like “Knights of the Old Republic” and the initial “Mass Effect”.

Despite continuing success with the rest of the Mass Effect series and the Dragon Age franchise, developing Inquisition on the Frostbite engine proved to be anything but enjoyable for EA.

As a former BioWare team member, I recently shared my experiences with EA on the My Perfect Console podcast, hosted by Simon Parkin. I painted a picture of our relationship that wasn’t entirely rosy. I parted ways with BioWare in 2012 due to my discomfort with the work environment EA established. When speaking with Parkin, I described EA as providing enough freedom to potentially falter, implying that one must learn to navigate their system successfully. In retrospect, our Mass Effect series was quite successful, but it required a deep understanding of how to operate within such a large corporation. By year two, I knew I wouldn’t last long in a big company setting, and indeed, by the second year, I decided it was time for me to move on.

Zeschuk Says That Companies Like EA Exist to Exploit Popular Franchises

It’s no surprise to those keeping an eye on current gaming trends that Zeschuk expressed dissatisfaction with Electronic Arts’ business strategy, which primarily revolved around leveraging intellectual properties.

Large corporations primarily function to maximize profits, often by leveraging resources or intellectual properties. In essence, they excel at extracting the maximum financial benefit from their ventures. However, it became apparent to me early on that my passion lies in creating games, rather than simply managing them.

The concept isn’t limited to EA; in fact, Ubisoft has produced numerous Assassin’s Creed titles, leading them to restart the series and decrease its release frequency. Similarly, Activision is well-known for acquiring developers to focus on Call of Duty productions.

Zeschuk also mentioned that if ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ had been financially successful, he would have aimed to purchase BioWare from EA using the profits. Yet, he stated that they needed around $2 billion in annual revenue to be considered a success, so he decided, “Well, I guess I’m content as is.

Read More

2025-02-25 20:11