Greg Zeschuk, one of BioWare's original founders, has shared his thoughts on the studio's recent closure, describing the event as "kind of sad" and citing EA's leveraged buyout by a Saudi-involved consortium as "the final nail in the coffin."
Zeschuk, who co-founded BioWare in 1995 with fellow medical students Ray Muzyka and Augustine Yip, learned of the studio's closure while fishing. He recounted receiving numerous text messages before confirming the news on his phone. "I'm not saying it doesn't hurt and doesn't suck," Zeschuk told 80 Level. "And I think it's kind of sad."
He expressed particular sadness for Edmonton, the city where BioWare was founded, viewing the studio as a "beacon of hope and excitement and possibility" that demonstrated success could be achieved in a region not typically known for game development.
Zeschuk and Muzyka retired from BioWare in 2012, the same year Mass Effect 3 was released, meaning they have been out of the industry for over a decade. Zeschuk stated he had "kind of gone through all the emotions long, long ago." He accepted that the studio changed after their departure, attributing it to the natural ebb and flow of personnel rather than a single cause. "I'm not going to have so much hubris to say Ray and I were the lynchpin in the chain, our departure ruined everything," he said. "It wasn't that at all. It's a slow and insidious kind of thing and again, it's the people. The people are the key."
However, upon hearing about the private acquisition of EA, Zeschuk foresaw potential negative consequences for BioWare. "I think it was the final nail in the coffin," he remarked. "I think that was the crux of it in a sense. BioWare makes these kinds of unusual games that take a long time and they're complicated and so it's easier just to pump out sports games every year, and that's a better business model in some ways."
The interview also touched upon BioWare's sale to EA in 2008, with Zeschuk noting they had "options actually." He also mentioned a personal shift away from story-driven games toward more action-focused titles like the Nioh series and Elden Ring.
Since 2017, Zeschuk has been involved in the craft beer industry with his company, Blind Enthusiasm, which now employs a dozen people and distributes tens of thousands of bottles of beer annually. This interview is the first Zeschuk has given regarding the closure, and Muzyka has not yet commented publicly. The third co-founder, Augustine Yip, departed BioWare in 1998.