EA’s sale to Saudi-led consortium was “final nail in the coffin” for BioWare, says studio co-founder
By “I’m not implying it doesn’t sting and isn’t frustrating.”
Image credit: EA
One of BioWare’s notable physician-founders, Greg Zeschuk, has at last commented on the studio’s shutdown last week, expressing that it’s “somewhat disappointing” and that EA’s leveraged acquisition by a Saudi-linked group “was the final blow”.
In an interview with 80 Level, Zeschuk – who established BioWare in 1995 alongside fellow medical students Ray Muzyka and Augustine Yip – noted he was fishing when he learned about the studio’s closure. “I received like 10 messages,” Zeschuk shared. “I got off the river and returned to my small room and opened my phone, and it’s like, ‘I’m so sorry to learn about BioWare.’ And I thought, ‘Oh no.’
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By the time he returned home later, he had seemingly processed the news and missed much of the discussion surrounding it. “I wasn’t present to partake in the moment,” he stated, “which in some aspects was nice because I could take my time with it.
“I’ve traversed through all the feelings long, long ago” -Greg Zeschuk
“I’m not implying it doesn’t sting and isn’t frustrating,” he added. “And I believe it’s somewhat disheartening. It’s actually, in certain respects, most saddening for the city of Edmonton, where we originated, as we were somewhat of a beacon of optimism and enthusiasm and potential. We demonstrated that you could create something truly extraordinary in a place that was not recognized for such achievements.”
Zeschuk and Muzyka departed from BioWare in 2012, the same year Mass Effect 3 was launched, so they have been away from the industry for a considerable period. They have progressed beyond that. “I’ve traversed through all the feelings long, long ago,” Zeschuk clarified.
BioWare did indeed transform thereafter, he appeared to concede, but as an outcome of a gradual evolution driven organically by personnel changes.
