BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk has broken his silence on the recent closure of the studio, a move that resulted in 50 job losses and the cancellation of Mass Effect 5, which was internally codenamed Mass Effect: Universe. Zeschuk, who departed BioWare in 2012 with co-founder Ray Muzyka, stated that while the news is sad, he has personally moved past the emotional impact of the studio's fate.
"I've kind of gone through all the emotions like long, long ago," Zeschuk told 80 Level. "You have to break from it and kind of go, ‘OK, I've had my emotional moment.'" He elaborated that his focus has shifted to his successful brewing business, indicating that his personal connection to BioWare's future had concluded.
Despite his personal detachment, Zeschuk expressed sympathy for the situation, particularly for the city of Edmonton, where BioWare was a significant presence. "We were kind of this beacon of hope and excitement and possibility. We showed you could do something really special in a place that was not known for doing things like that,” he remarked.
Zeschuk suggested that the acquisition of EA by the Saudi Public Investment Fund was the "final nail in the coffin" for BioWare. He reasoned that the studio's complex, long-development RPGs are less suited to the business model favored by current ownership, which he contrasted with the predictable annual releases of sports games.
He also criticized the trend of executives without game development backgrounds leading studios. "There’s this weird belief that you can just kind of recreate great games with random people and AI. It doesn’t work," Zeschuk stated. He emphasized that individuals who have never experienced the full development cycle of a game, even a small one, lack the fundamental understanding of how game development functions.
The closure of BioWare and the cancellation of Mass Effect 5 have generated significant public reaction, with many lamenting the loss of a studio with a storied legacy. Composer Austin Wintory, who had been in discussions to score Mass Effect 5, even released 22 minutes of music he had created for the project in an effort to demonstrate his commitment.