BioWare's Founding Doctors Are Retiring from Industry
Doctors Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are retiring from BioWare and the games industry itself.
BioWare co-founders, Doctors Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, announced on Tuesday that they are retiring from BioWare. Both offer a long explanation, revealing that they're leaving the gaming business altogether as well.
"After nearly two decades in video games, I’ve decided to move on to pursue an entirely different set of challenges," Muzyka said. "This has been an incredibly difficult decision to make; after thinking about it for many months, I made the decision to retire from video games back in early April 2012 – at that time I provided six months’ notice to EA, to help enable a solid transition for my teams at BioWare."
"The decision to leave the videogame industry is hard to explain, but essentially I feel similar now to how I felt in the early days of BioWare over the decade post-medical school, while I was still practicing as an ER physician, back when I first realized that the world of video games was my next career ‘chapter'," he adds. "Two wonderful decades working at BioWare and later EA was the result of that decision. It’s not often that you can truly say you were able to pursue and achieve your dream job; I know how lucky I am to be able to say that now, in my early 40s."
In Zeschuk's post, he said that after nearly twenty years working at BioWare, he decided it was time to move on and pursue something new too. He added that the decision wasn't without its share of pain and regret, but he feels like his departure is something he needs to do for himself and for his 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 said. "For the people I have had the privilege of working with, however, my passion burns as brightly as it did the day we started. The people I work with now, and that I have worked with in the past, have inspired me and really made all of the challenges we’ve collectively faced over the years worthwhile."
"One thing I’m confident of is that we’ve built a great team that will continue to succeed long after I’m gone," he adds. "The thing I’m most proud of is the success of people that we’ve help grow over the years; I hope all of them exceed anything I’ve ever done and eclipse our achievements. I have full confidence in the current leadership team guiding BioWare to continued future success."
Aaryn Flynn, General Manager of BioWare Edmonton & Montreal, followed up with his own blog reassuring fans that all is well with BioWare despite the departure of its founding members. He briefly covers the just-revealed Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, the Mass Effect franchise, and teases new, unannounced games from the studios. Creative people are delivering new content and gameplay for established franchises, and new games that go in new directions, he said.
"Ray and Greg built BioWare to last," Flynn added. "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.
"Now it's up to us to show the world what you [the doctors] taught us."
It's ok: you can cry now. We totally get it (sniff).
On the other hand, if the founders had been growing weary of running the company, it makes sense that they'd cash out by selling bioware to EA before leaving.
Both propositions are equally disgusting in my opinion. Everyone would have been better off taking bioware public and having a board run the company. At least then, it would have cost EA a fortune to devour the soul of another developer.
I cant stop laughing at this part. Really? 2 guys found one of greatest game studios ever and then they pass it to some overweight writer whos obsessed about homosexuality. Oh well, thats a one way to put it.
You guys really defined your own genera of games, bringing elements of the old 'choose your own story' books I enjoyed as a kid, with RPG elements and mechanics, and you will be remembered for it.
Well, as if ME3, DA2 and SW:TOR weren't enough for me to say enough with Bioware, this seals it.
Honestly, a violation of contract should have been the better option than allowing EA to speak through him the way they did.
I'm not a healthy individual; I hold a grudge. Not often, but when I do it sticks. The media slanders the fans and Bioware doesn't even mention it. Worse it agrees with it by adopting the same argument. You cannot tell me that was all EA because every 'crime' of this style require complicity.
I would of spoken out and taken the obligatory firing. But both the Drs. and most of the staff chose not to (the solitary exception I know of being Patrick Weekes).
Strangely enough EA's position I can understand. They're a corporation. That means their sole motivator is making money as much as they can. Siding with the press is perfectly reasonable for a corporation. Disgusting, but not to the same degree.
We trusted Bioware like we never trusted EA. We saw them when they took fan feedback and we loved that about them. We recognized that they as a company cared about making games their fans would enjoy. We expected correspondence and received silence. We expected compassion and received cruelty.
Bioware is dead to me because of the way they handled the ending, not because of the ending.
I remember when core group of Everqest team left and form new studio cus they had enough of Sony. Them made vanguard however vanguard end up published by sony than few years down the road them sold the right to Sony.