BioWare was a beloved studio for quite some time, especially for developing well-received RPGs like Jade Empire. In the past few years, however, the developer has had a bit of a frosty reception when a new game was released. This was especially the case with the likes of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem.
There’s also the fact that many high-profile names at the studio have departed, such as Mass Effect’s Drew Karpyshyn and Casey Hudson, alongside Dragon Age head Mark Darrah. The latter two came as work was set to begin in earnest on their respective franchises. However, that doesn’t mean that EA, the publisher behind the developer, has lost much confidence in the studio.
In the company’s third-quarter FY2021, its chief executive officer Andrew Wilson noted that, while BioWare suffered a few “blips” in recent years, EA was still “very confident” in its future, per a conference call.
“That is an incredible studio filled with incredible people who do incredible work. I think that from the outside world, there have been some blips in their delivery over the last couple of years, but that has come as a result of them pushing deeply into innovation and creativity, and we feel very, very confident and their future roadmap, and we’ve talked about games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect in their future.”
Wilson also addressed the departures of Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah, saying that EA has a lot of respect for them both. He added that they were both friends of his and known for their creativity and innovation.
“With respect to Casey and Mark leaving, again, both good friends of mine, we have tremendous respect for both of them, but this happens in the natural course of creative organizations from time to time. We feel very very good about the ongoing leadership of that studio, and the many people who come to work every day to deliver great innovation and creativity.”
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