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 Headquarters at theEpcor Tower | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1 February 1995; 30 years ago (1995-02-01) |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | , Canada |
Key people |
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| Products | List of BioWare video games |
Number of employees | <100[2] (2025) |
| Parent |
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| Subsidiaries | See§ Subsidiaries |
| Website | bioware.com |
BioWare is a Canadianvideo game developer based inEdmonton,Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduatedmedical doctorsRay Muzyka,Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Since 2007, the company has been owned by American publisherElectronic Arts.
BioWare specializes inrole-playing video games, and achieved recognition for developing highly praised and successful licensed franchises:Baldur's Gate,Neverwinter Nights, andStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. They proceeded to make several other successful games based on original intellectual property:Jade Empire, theMass Effect series, and theDragon Age series. In 2011, BioWare launched their firstmassively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG),Star Wars: The Old Republic.
BioWare was founded byRay Muzyka andGreg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip.[3][4] Of the founding team, Muzyka, Zeschuk and Yip had recently graduated from medical school at theUniversity of Alberta, and had a background in programming for use in school.[5] Together with Yip, they had created a medical simulation programme.[5] The three also played video games for recreation, eventually deciding to develop their own.[5] Their success in the medical field provided them with the funding they needed to launch a video game company. To make their first game, they pooled their resources, $100,000 CAD each, which resulted in capital of $300,000.[5] The company was incorporated on 1 February 1995, though formally launched on 22 May 1995.[6][7]
Their first game,Shattered Steel, began its life as a proof-of-concept demo, similar to theMechWarrior games. This demo was submitted to ten publishers, seven of whom returned to the company with an offer. A publishing deal forShattered Steel was eventually signed withInterplay Entertainment. Brent Oster and Trent Oster formed Pyrotek Studios, which continued developingShattered Steel but broke up a year later, with Trent joining BioWare as an early employee to finish the game.[8] BioWare's first game was released the following year.Shattered Steel's release was described byIGN as a "modest success" with "decent sales". Two noteworthy points were the deformable terrain (player weapon damage caused craters in the environment) and zone damage (well-aimed gunfire could shoot mounted weapons off enemies). A sequel toShattered Steel was planned for 1998 but never realized.[5]
BioWare's founders and staff were keenly interested in bothcomputerized andpen-and-paper variants ofrole-playing games. Their next development project, therefore, was determined to be a role-playing game. When Interplay financed "exploratory development", BioWare presented the publishers with a demo calledBattleground: Infinity. Interplay suggested that the demonstrated gameplay engine would be well-suited to theDungeons & Dragons licence which it had acquired fromStrategic Simulations. Accordingly,Infinity was reworked in line with theDungeons & Dragons ruleset.[5]
The result wasBaldur's Gate, with a development cycle of three years. During this time, the three doctors continued to practice medicine. The demands of development later prompted Muzyka and Zeschuck to leave medicine and move into full-time development. Augustine Yip decided to continue with his medical practice.Baldur's Gate sold more than two million copies after its release, nearly matching the sales ofDiablo. Following the success ofBaldur's Gate, the Infinity Engine was used for the gamesPlanescape: Torment and theIcewind Dale series. The success ofBaldur's Gate was followed by an expansion pack for the game:Tales of the Sword Coast.[9]
At this point, BioWare decided to return to the action genre. The company's initial thought was to develop a sequel toShattered Steel, but eventually a sequel toMDK fromShiny Entertainment was chosen for development.[5]MDK2 was released on PC,Dreamcast, and eventuallyPlayStation 2, offering BioWare their first taste of developinggames for consoles.[9]MDK2 drew the same level of praise as its predecessor but, despite the success, BioWare returned to theBaldur's Gate series for their next project.[5]
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn was released in 2000,[9] two years after the release ofBaldur's Gate.[5]Baldur's Gate II sold two million copies, matching the sales of the first game in the series. However, the success of bothBaldur's Gate II andMDK2 was not enough to stabilize Interplay financially.[5] Subsequently, BioWare began to work withInfogrames, which was later renamed toAtari.[9]Neverwinter Nights was originally to be published by Interplay, but the company lost the licence of the game toAtari and part of theirDungeons & Dragons licence to BioWare. After selling their D&D licence to Atari, BioWare developedStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic andJade Empire. It had publishing relationships with Interplay Entertainment,Infogrames, under its new name Atari,LucasArts, andMicrosoft.
The next few years saw a number of changes in BioWare's corporate status. In November 2005, it was announced that BioWare andPandemic Studios (itself founded by formerActivision employees) would be joining forces (with each maintaining their own branding), with private equity fundElevation Partners investing in the newly named VG Holding Corp. partnership. On 11 October 2007, it was announced that VG Holding Corp. had been bought byElectronic Arts forUS$775 million (equivalent to $1.18 billion in 2024).[10] BioWare therefore became a unit of EA, but still retained its own branding.
In 2007, BioWare released the science fiction role-playing gameMass Effect. The following year, BioWare releasedSonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on theNintendo DS, its first title for ahandheld game console. Later, EA announced that BioWare would merge withMythic Entertainment, another division of EA who would rename itself as BioWare Mythic after the deal.[11]
The growth of the MMORPG group as part of Electronic Arts in 2008 resulted in three additional studios being added to the BioWare group outside BioWare's original home base in Edmonton. The first, located inAustin, Texas, and headed by industry veteransGordon Walton and Richard Vogel, was created to work on theStar Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG project. Both the studio and the project were announced on 13 March 2006. On 2 March 2009, BioWare announced it had opened a new studio inMontreal,Quebec, to assist with existing projects as necessary.[12]
During the mid-2000s, BioWare staff developed a number of video game projects which were ultimately canceled. A handheld spin-off forMass Effect franchise titledMass Effect: Corsair, inspired by the gameplay ofStar Control and played from a first-person perspective, was briefly explored as a potential project for theNintendo DS in 2008.[13] A sequel toJade Empire was under development at one point.[14] The project transitioned into a spiritual successor codenamedRevolver, which was canceled by 2008.[14] Trent Oster led a team which worked on a spy-themed role-playing game codenamedAgent prior to his second departure from BioWare in 2009.[15] Unused concept art forAgent andRevolver are featured in the art bookBioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development, published in January 2021.[14]
On 24 June 2009, Electronic Arts announced a restructuring of their role-playing and massively multiplayer online games development into a new group that included both Mythic Entertainment and BioWare. Ray Muzyka, co-founder and general manager of BioWare, was appointed the group general manager of this newly formed "BioWare Group". BioWare's other co-founder, Greg Zeschuk, became the Group Creative Officer for the new MMORPG studio group. BioWare's studios remained unchanged and continued to report to Muzyka. Near the end of 2009, BioWare released the critically acclaimed fantasy role-playing gameDragon Age: Origins.[16]
In January 2010, BioWare released the sequel toMass Effect,Mass Effect 2, which would go on to receive critical acclaim and many awards. The company announced that it would be opening up a new customer service office inGalway, Ireland, in 2011.[17] BioWare completed three major games between 2011 and 2012. Themassively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)Star Wars: The Old Republic is based on BioWare's previous contribution to theStar Wars franchise,[18] and was announced on 21 October 2008, although BioWare had first mentioned an unspecified new collaboration withLucasArts in October the previous year.[19] The other games wereDragon Age II, the sequel toDragon Age: Origins, andMass Effect 3.[20][21][22][23]
Following the release ofMass Effect 3 in March 2012, numerous players complained about its endings failing to fulfill the developer's earlier promises regarding the conclusion of the trilogy. In response tothe controversy surrounding the game's ending sequence, BioWare announced on 5 April that they would reschedule their post-release content production and release an "Extended Cut" DLC that would expand the original endings and address the most common points of critique.[24] The Extended Cut was released as a free download on 26 June 2012.[25] On 18 September 2012, the next day after the official announcement of thethirdDragon Age title,[26] bothRay Muzyka andGreg Zeschuk, two of the remaining co-founders of BioWare, simultaneously announced they would be retiring from the gaming industry.[27][28] After almost a year without a formal head, EA appointed Matthew Bromberg the group general manager of the BioWare label on 9 September 2013. Former CEO and president ofMajor League Gaming, Bromberg worked as the general manager of BioWare Austin since 2012; after his promotion,Jeff Hickman took over as the general manager in Austin. Aaryn Flynn remained in charge of BioWare Canada (Edmonton and Montreal) andJon Van Caneghem, the head ofVictory Games and Waystone Studio (also parts of the BioWare label).[29]
After acquiring and dismantlingLucasArts,The Walt Disney Company announced in May 2013 that Electronic Arts will produce futureStar Wars games, "in addition to the BioWare team, which is already developing for the Star Wars franchise."[30] In November 2013, teaser images from the next instalment of theMass Effect series were released.[31] AtE3 2014, BioWare Edmonton announced working on a new (unnamed) original intellectual property in addition to continuing their established series.[32] Another new IP, titledShadow Realms is an episodic 4 vs. 1 story-driven online action role-playing game, and was announced onGamescom 2014.[33] On 9 February 2015, BioWare Austin announced that development onShadow Realms would not continue.[34][35]
Casey Hudson, the creator of theMass Effect series, left BioWare in May 2014, whileDrew Karpyshyn, writer ofStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the first twoMass Effect games, returned in 2015.[36]Dragon Age's writerDavid Gaider left BioWare in January 2016.[37] Chris Wynn and Chris Schlerf, both of whom had an important role in the development ofMass Effect: Andromeda, left in December 2015 and February 2016 respectively.[38]Alexis Kennedy, co-founder ofFailbetter Games and the creative director ofDragon Age: The Last Court, joined BioWare as its "first ever guest writer" in September 2016.[39]
On 13 September 2016, EA announced the formation of EA Worldwide Studios, which would consist of BioWare Studios,EA Mobile, andMaxis, and led byDICE co-founderPatrick Soderlund. At the same time, Samantha Ryan, head of EA Mobile and Maxis, was appointed the new head of BioWare Studios.[40] Released in March 2017,Andromeda was at the center of controversy of equal proportions, if not higher than that around the third chapter; starting with heavy criticisms that were addressed before the video game was released[41] to the lukewarm response received by the specialized press and the fandom[42] with sales lower than the previousMass Effect games.[43] Given the circumstancesElectronic Arts had reportedly frozen the entireMass Effect series, downgrading the BioWare Montréal branch from a leading development team to a support team,[44] and later merging it intoMotive Studios.[45]
During EA'sEA Play pre-E3 press conference on 10 June 2017, BioWare revealedAnthem, a newaction role-playing game,[46] with BioWare's story writer,Drew Karpyshyn, who previously worked onMass Effect andMass Effect 2, contributing to the new game.[47] In July 2017, Aaryn Flynn, general manager of BioWare, announced that he would depart from the company. Hudson returned to BioWare as its new general manager.[48] Lead story developer forJade Empire andDragon Age creative directorMike Laidlaw announced his departure from BioWare in October 2017 after 14 years with the company.[49]James Ohlen, the lead designer of theBaldur's Gate series,Neverwinter Nights,Knights of the Old Republic,Jade Empire, andDragon Age: Origins, as well as the game director ofThe Old Republic MMO, left the studio after 22 years in July 2018.[50]
On 24 September 2019, it was announced that BioWare had moved from their old location on Calgary Trail into 3 stories of theEpcor Tower in downtown Edmonton.[51]
On 7 November 2020 or "N7 Day", a date first declared in 2012 by BioWare as an annual "worldwide celebration" of theMass Effect franchise,Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was announced as well as an all-new entry to the franchise that had just started development.[52] The following month, on 3 December, both Hudson and Mark Darrah, the executive producer on theDragon Age series, announced their departures from the studio. Electronic Arts stated that work on theMass Effect andDragon Age games would still continue at the studio.[53] A week later, a teaser trailer for the nextMass Effect game was shown atThe Game Awards.[54]
On 14 May 2021,Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was released onMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 4,[55] and theXbox One series.[56]
On 23 August 2023, about 50 BioWare developers were laid off.[57] A group of former employees later sued EA, seeking better severance following their layoffs.[58]
On 31 October 2024, the fourth instalment in the Dragon Age series,Dragon Age: The Veilguard, was released. The game received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for its Windows andPlayStation 5 versions[59][60] and "universal acclaim" for its Xbox Series X/S version, according to thereview aggregator websiteMetacritic.[61]Eurogamer described the sales as "decent" but said the numbers may not have pleased publisher EA.[62]Dragon Age: The Veilguard wasreview bombed by users for being "'woke,' 'DEI,' 'propaganda,' and 'agenda-driven'" on Metacritic, causing the platform to respond with a statement and by removing user reviews which had violated their guidelines.[63]Veilguard is the first BioWare game that allows the player character to identify astransgender.[64] On 7 November 2024, or "N7 Day", BioWare released a patch which added severalMass Effect-inspired costumes into the game.[65] In late October 2024, following the release ofVeilguard, creative director John Epler stated that BioWare's attention had "shifted entirely to the nextMass Effect [game]" in an interview withRolling Stone.[66]Veilguard game director Corinne Busche exited BioWare for a role at a different company in January 2025.[67]
Amazon MGM Studios officially confirmed on 7 November 2024 that aMass Effect TV series is in development, following negotiations that had started in late 2021. BioWare executive producer Michael Gamble will also act as an executive producer on the TV adaptation.[68][69]
In January 2025, EA lowered its upcoming annual revenue forecast due to the underperformance of bothEA Sports FC 25 andVeilguard.[70][71][72] EA stated thatVeilguard had "engaged" 1.5 million players during the three months ending December 31, 2024, underperforming their expectations by half.[2][a] Later that month, EA restructured and downsized BioWare.[74] While a smallMass Effect team was retained to continue work, the studio "is now down from more than 200 people two years ago to less than 100 today".[2] This restructuring included layoffs in theDragon Age team,[74] with IGN noting that "terminated" employees "are being offered time to apply to other roles within the company if they so choose".[75]Bloomberg stated that some BioWare employees were "loaned out to other teams within their parent company" and then later informed "that the loans had morphed into permanent relocations" to various EA subsidiaries.[2]PC Gamer highlighted that "well-known BioWare veterans" are no longer at the company and "collectively, the cuts represent a major loss of creative talent for the studio, and bears echoes of BioWare's layoff of roughly 50 employees in 2023".[74]
Between 1998 and 2011, BioWare developed a number of in-housevideo game engines to serve as technical basis for their games. Some of these engines were then licensed to other companies to develop their own games. Others came withmodding toolkits, allowing thefan community to implement original adventures using the technology of BioWare's games.
BioWare created the Infinity Engine to use it as a core component for development of theBaldur's Gate series (1998–2001), which were2Drole-playing video games based onDungeons & Dragons. The engine was also used byBlack Isle Studios to create the critically acclaimedPlanescape: Torment (1999) and theIcewind Dale series (2000–2002). WhenBeamdog sought out a license from BioWare and started engineering enhanced versions of these games in 2012, they created an updated version of the Infinity Engine, referred to as the "Infinity Enhanced Engine" (alternatively Infinity Plus Engine or Infinity Bless Engine).[76]
TheAurora Engine was the successor to the Infinity Engine, featuringfull 3D environments,real-time lighting and shadows, andsurround sound.[77] BioWare used the Aurora Engine to produce their 2002Neverwinter Nights, as well as two expansion packs. The game included the Aurora toolset, a collection of tools allowing users to create their own digitaladventure modules to be played either in single-player or in online multiplayer. The toolset enjoyed great popularity among the modding community, with over a thousand fan-made modules produced in it within half a year after the release.[78]Obsidian Entertainment (successor to Black Isle Studios) used an updated version of BioWare's Aurora, titled "Electron Engine", to produceNeverwinter Nights 2 (2006) and its three expansion packs (2007–2009). Like the original, the Electron toolset was released with the game.[79] The Polish studioCD Projekt Red used the Aurora Engine to developThe Witcher, the 2007 video game adaptation of thePolish fantasy novel series, although therendering module was rewritten from scratch.[80]
BioWare used an updated version of the Aurora, titled the Odyssey Engine, to produceStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in 2003 and their first original intellectual property role-playing gameJade Empire in 2005. The Odyssey Engine was the first BioWare engine to allow developing forvideo game consoles, with bothKnights of the Old Republic andJade Empire originally released for theXbox before being ported to the PC platform. Obsidian Entertainment used the Odyssey Engine to developStar Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004), a sequel to the originalKnights of the Old Republic. BioWare maintained limited oversight on Obsidian's development ofThe Sith Lords, as well asNeverwinter Nights 2.[81]
TheEclipse Engine succeeded the Odyssey Engine and, among other things, supportedPhysX hardware acceleration.[82] It was used to produceDragon Age: Origins (2009) and its expansion packAwakening (2010). LikeNeverwinter Nights,Origins was released with a toolset to allow the players to run their own adventure modules on the Eclipse Engine.[83] An upgraded version of the Eclipse Engine, internally known as the Lycium Engine, was used to produceDragon Age II (2011).[84]
In September 2004, BioWare acquired a license to useUnreal Engine 3 from developerEpic Games.[85][86] Unreal Engine 3 would ultimately be used to develop the originalMass Effect trilogy (2007–2012), as well as the remasteredMass Effect: Legendary Edition in 2021.[87][88]
In 2013, EA confirmed that all future games developed by BioWare will be made onDICE'sFrostbite engine.[89] All of BioWare's games since the confirmation (Dragon Age: Inquisition,Mass Effect: Andromeda,Anthem, andDragon Age: The Veilguard) were developed using Frostbite 3 as part of the general move towards a unified technology foundation across all of Electronic Arts' development studios.[90][91]
The full list of awards can be found on their web site.[105]
In addition to numerous game awards, in October 2008, the company was named one ofAlberta's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by theCalgary Herald[107] and theEdmonton Journal.[108][109]
BioWare's co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk were named as members of theOrder of Canada in December 2018 "for [their] revolutionary contributions to the video game industry as a developer and co-founder of an internationally renowned studio."[110]
Critically, The Veilguard has been received well, and commercially sales have been decent - but there's also been a suggestion that sales have not exceeded expectations.
Notably, EA does not say the 1.5 million number was unit sales - Dragon Age: The Veilguard was also available as a part of EA's Play Pro subscription service. Additionally, it's not clear whether EA is counting a free trial of the game that was available through the cheaper EA Play subscription in the 1.5 million number either.
While it might appear to run on a new engine, Dragon Age 2 employs an evolved version of Origins' Eclipse engine (now called the Lycium engine internally).
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