BioWare Founder Greg Zeschuk Still at Company, Says EA
There's talk that BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk has left the company, but there's a good chance he's merely moved to the Montreal studio to be closer to his family.
German website GamersGlobal initially reported that BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk may have resigned from the company. Zeschuk allegedly has not been seen at the BioWare Austin studio for a number of weeks. Adding to the panic is the fact that both Zeschuk and fellow co-founder Ray Muzyka didn't make an appearance at a recent meeting -- that's unusual, we guess.
According to Zeschuk's LinkedIn profile, he's still listed as part of the BioWare team (1995 to present), but he is no longer acting as General Manager of the BioWare Austin studio (6/10 to 5/12). Filling the GM shoes in Austin is ex-Major League Gaming CEO Matthew Bromberg. EA later confirms all of this in an emailed statement to GamersGlobal.
"When Greg Zeschuk announced the reorganization of [BioWare Austin] in May, he outlined his plan to return to his family in Edmonton for a much deserved vacation," an EA spokesperson told the German website. "Greg also announced the new [general manager] of SWTOR Bioware Austin as Matt Bromberg. Greg is still at EA. He is now back in Canada, where he takes a break and thinking of new projects. With Ray Muzyka, there is no change."
Yet GamersGlobal still sniffs trouble, reporting it unusual that Zeschuk didn't have an official position at EA or BioWare following his resignation as the Austin studio's General Manager. There's also that supposed meeting too in which both founders didn't attend. Now there's "fear" that the studio will be re-branded as EA Austin, as it's currently facing mounting "internal pressure."
That said, it's highly possible Zeschuk has decided to work at the BioWare Montreal studio to work on new projects and be closer to his family. As of October 2011, the entire BioWare group consisted of six individual studios: BioWare Edmonton, BioWare Austin, BioWare Mythic, BioWare Montreal, BioWare Ireland, and BioWare San Francisco. There's plenty of EA-owned BioWare to go around, it seems.
BioWare Austin was responsible for developing the disappointing Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG. The PC game launched back in December 2011 and has thus seen a massive decline in numbers since the beginning of the year, dipping below one million in recent weeks. Just recently the MMORPG went into free-to-play mode to help reel in new and old customers alike.
BioWare was founded in February 1995 by medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Titles generated by the developer over the years have included the Baldur's Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the Mass Effect series, Dragon Age: Origins and more.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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Draven35 did someone tell them that they weren't at the meeting, or were they just not seen going into the building or office? If they just weren't seen, let me tell you about this nifty new thing called teleconferencing...Reply -
icepick314 how about letting HIM speak for himself?Reply
what is EA doing to the poor guy?
chained him to a desk in a dark basement under EA HQ? -
wow it seems there was a bit of truth to the rumor after all. It's starting to become a trend.Reply
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dalethepcman I'm thinking they are starting to realize what "selling out" means, and the price was too steep for them. Bioware is still a great company, but the last few products they released seemed rushed so they could "cash in" which isn't something Bioware did before EA came around.Reply
You didn't see neverwinter 2 nights DLC come out one week after neverwinter nights 2 release and neverwinter nights 3 come out 6 months later. (yes Im talking about dragon age) -
n3ard3ath dalethepcmanI'm thinking they are starting to realize what "selling out" means, and the price was too steep for them. Bioware is still a great company, but the last few products they released seemed rushed so they could "cash in" which isn't something Bioware did before EA came around. You didn't see neverwinter 2 nights DLC come out one week after neverwinter nights 2 release and neverwinter nights 3 come out 6 months later. (yes Im talking about dragon age)Reply
Good point, but don't forget NWN 2 was developped by Obsidian, Bioware just rented the license to them or something. But you could say the same thing about NWN 1, it's just that it's way older. Their last great RPG if you ask me. Mass Effect is okay I guess, but subpar as an RPG if you ask me. You clearly see it was simplified as an RPG to please the crowd and make the most cash as possible. IMO, I don't think Bioware is a great company anymore, they're just less Bd than the other Big B's (Bethesda/Blizzard).
Look at what they made with the KotR franchise...Money money money? MMO...Seriously, I'm happy Old Republic seems to be failing, at least, in their business perceptive. Tjhey were probably expecting to steal way more from WoW or something. I heard they want to go F2P. F2P is a sign of failure to me. BTW, F2P, another plague the PC gaming industry is suffering from. -
n3ard3ath Forgot to say NWN 1 had 2 pretty good expension packs following it. Nowadays it's subpar DLC to right, subpar DLC to left. Greed is good, ain't it? If only people could stop supporting this racket with their money...Reply -
matt_b dalethepcmanI'm thinking they are starting to realize what "selling out" means, and the price was too steep for them. Bioware is still a great company, but the last few products they released seemed rushed so they could "cash in" which isn't something Bioware did before EA came around.That's because that IS what EA is all about. Bioware is not and will probably never be the same any more now that big EA owns them. The fact about the co-founder still being there or not is irrelevant, his voice along with the voices of all of the other great talent was lost with the buyout going through. There is no other company in the history of gaming that has killed more companies and squandered more talent than EA.Reply -
bigdragon icepick314how about letting HIM speak for himself?what is EA doing to the poor guy?chained him to a desk in a dark basement under EA HQ?Probably the same thing they did to Will Wright. EA likes to claim every thought their creative acquisitions make and lock their successful people in padded asylum offices to make sure nobody else can get at their ideas. Success is punished.Reply -
timw03878 I love how everyone blames EA. As if Bioware didn't have a choice in the matter. Business is Business guys. A contract is a contract. Don't like it? then VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS. Anyone, and I mean anyone who bought a bioware product after EA bought them, basically said "we approve of this contract" The people who are at fault? The consumer... all of you stupid ass sheep who keep buying crap and wonder why EA sucks so much.Reply -
master_chen I seriously stopped giving crap about EAware after what they did to Mass Effect 3...Reply