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[Kadve]

BioWare lays off senior writing staff as part of its recent job cuts

As part of its recently publicised cutbacks, BioWare has "let go of" Lukas Kristjanson, the lead writer behind Baldur's…

www.eurogamer.net

As part of its recently publicised cutbacks, BioWare has "let go of" Lukas Kristjanson, the lead writer behind Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, and the writer of the first three Dragon Age games, Mary Kirby.

BioWare announced earlier this week that it'll be laying off approximately 50 employees - around 20 per cent of its total workforce, according to recent employment figures - as part of a "shift towards a more agile and more focused studio". Each writer had been with the studio for over 20 years.

 

[masterkajo]

Sad... very sad.

 

[Tomi]

Bioware is dying
Very sad

 

[Dr.D00p]

Sounds like they want to hire younger people and pay them alot less.

 

[MMaRsu]

Wow

Ea just getting ready to shut Bioware then

 

[Senua]

Sounds like they want to hire younger people and pay them alot less.

Plenty are lining up!

 

[Thief1987]

Why do the modern Bioware need writers of Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age?

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Plenty are lining up!

I can almost smell the lack of 'toxic' masculinity that will be put forward just from that picture

Cant wait

 

[kuncol02]

Bioware is dying
Very sad

Bioware is dead since 2012 when Muzyka and Zeschuk left.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Why do the modern Bioware need writers of Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age?

Because they knew how to do things?

You know, make good stuff? That old trope..

 

[unlurkified]

Bioware is dead since 2012 when Muzyka and Zeschuk left.

I forgot about that. That was a huge deal back then. Crazy to then see them leave the industry (presumably because of toxic fans) and go into brewing.

 

[GymWolf]

I can almost smell the lack of 'toxic' masculinity that will be put forward just from that picture

Cant wait

The only 2 men dressing in pink is a dead giveaway.

 

[STARSBarry]

Bioware is dying
Very sad

Dying? It's been dead since Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem, the cracks where showing here and there though even earlier. Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 where showing issues with getting to the finish line with a fleshed out product, feeling scaled back in terms of scope and complexity compared to their predecessors.

Dragon Age Inquisition felt like an Ubisoft title, it was like "how can the game be this boring?"

Truly they where just anouther EA studio like any other by the time they where putting loot boxes into their titles.

 

[Skifi28]

 

[Chuck Berry]

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Why do the modern Bioware need writers of Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age?

They don't, it's not like they can create a game of such a quality nowadays. Which is why the lead writer on these is being fired.

 

[Fools idol]

They pretty much died to me when they released DAO2 anyways

 

[delfrickintree]

I really liked Andromeda but that's because I skipped over all the dialogue and cutscenes.

 

[akaFullmetal]

Good luck to all.

 

[Pejo]

Hope they land on their feet and the husk that is modern day Bioware continues to flail about until it's finally put out to pasture.

 

[TVexperto]

bioware has been dead for 10 years now

 

[Kurotri]

At this point I'm wondering why EA hasn't shut this one down yet

 

[Hudo]

I will keep repeating: EA shut down Westwood Studios for far less bullshit. By that metric, EA would've shut down BioWare 10 times over.

Edit: Actually, that's my metric now. How many Westwood Studios shutdowns of bullshit is BioWare worth? In my opinion: 10.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I bet BioWare gets euthanized after Dragon Age flops.

 

[Toots]

Plenty are lining up!

I have as much confidence in a game developed by this line-up being good as the dude on the left has in general :/

 

[diffusionx]

I wouldn't be surprised if their upcoming games get canceled and the studio gets shut down, it seems like EA is done with them and with good reason.

 

[Skifi28]

I wouldn't be surprised if their upcoming games get canceled and the studio gets shut down, it seems like EA is done with them and with good reason.

It seems like Bioware is done with Bioware. I'm sure EA had a part in all this too over the years, but Bioware has been steadily digging its own grave for a while now.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Yeah, this definitely sounds like the ship is sinking. I'm legitimately surprised they've been alive this whole time TBH. It's like they've just been on life support as nothing has really gone on other than "development" on a new title/titles. But nothing felt confident at all. Such a shame.

 

[skyfall]

dude on the left

Spoiler: Everyone in that picture is male

 

[Sorcerer]

At this point I'm wondering why EA hasn't shut this one down yet

Having an RPG studio is an asset if you can make it work. It seems though you need to dedicate yourself soley to that genre to make it work. Look at the excitement when a Final Fantasy game or A Bethesda game is on the horizon.
Bioware being part of EA is probably held back because they have to meet the sales goals of the parent company, who of course do not share the passion for what the developers create, they only want to please the shareholders.
Sad, Bioware was such a fantastic company when it was run by the Doctors.

 

[RoboFu]

BioWare lays off senior writing staff as part of its recent job cuts

As part of its recently publicised cutbacks, BioWare has "let go of" Lukas Kristjanson, the lead writer behind Baldur's…

www.eurogamer.net

he is stunned the oldest personn there is leaving.. really... lol twitter people are stupid.

 

[diffusionx]

It seems like Bioware is done with Bioware. I'm sure EA had a part in all this too over the years, but Bioware has been steadily digging its own grave for a while now.

Yea, I'm not putting the blame on EA here.

I am sure Bioware had a good pitch for DA/ME after the failure of Anthem. But what led to the failure of Anthem is the same reason why these games are in endless dev hell, because the talent to make these games is gone. Even if they get something out the door, it is likely going to make Andromeda look like Baldur's Gate 2.

 

[adamsapple]

Hey Bioware.

Is everything OK ?

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Plenty are lining up!

Now this is a team that's ready to use Bioware's games as a platform to tell stories that elevate oppressed and underrepresented minority voices.

So brave and stunning!

Spoiler

/s... obviously

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

The excuse for ME: Andromeda was that the “A team” were all working on Anthem.

Then Anthem dropped and was easily BioWare’s worst and most unfinished game.

They planned to reboot/relaunch Anthem but that got scrapped after some high profile departures.

DA4 has been in development forever and has suffered more high profile departures.

BioWare goes through a round of layoffs


All signs point to this studio being dead. 100% expect that DA4 is their last chance and that EA has already made the decision to put them out of their misery unless DA4 is miraculously some huge hit.

 

[Danteyke223]

Yea, I'm not putting the blame on EA here.

I am sure Bioware had a good pitch for DA/ME after the failure of Anthem. But what led to the failure of Anthem is the same reason why these games are in endless dev hell, because the talent to make these games is gone. Even if they get something out the door, it is likely going to make Andromeda look like Baldur's Gate 2.

Anthem is such a weird thing in the history of Bioware, since it took 7 years of development hell, and it turns out EA did not even influence the game at all (besides telling them to finally release it). In fact when Bioware wanted to remove the flying aspect the CEO went lol no keep it in it's awesome.

 

[Kurotri]

Having an RPG studio is an asset if you can make it work. It seems though you need to dedicate yourself soley to that genre to make it work. Look at the excitement when a Final Fantasy game or A Bethesda game is on the horizon.
Bioware being part of EA is probably held back because they have to meet the sales goals of the parent company, who of course do not share the passion for what the developers create, they only want to please the shareholders.
Sad, Bioware was such a fantastic company when it was run by the Doctors.

I don't know man, from what I've read EA was actually pretty forthcoming towards them. Regardless, Bioware has been laughing stock for over a decade now. Them getting so many passes is absurd to me as they evidently can't get their shit together.

 

[KyoZz]

Bioware is long dead, now it's just a shell that EA displays in front of players hoping that we will be fooled

 

[Fbh]

Don't worry guys, Dragon Age is in the safe hands of a they/them individual that totally doesn't have a Resetera tattoo

 

[Thief1987]

The excuse for ME: Andromeda was that the “A team” were all working on Anthem.

Then Anthem dropped and was easily BioWare’s worst and most unfinished game.

They planned to reboot/relaunch Anthem but that got scrapped after some high profile departures.

DA4 has been in development forever and has suffered more high profile departures.

BioWare goes through a round of layoffs


All signs point to this studio being dead. 100% expect that DA4 is their last chance and that EA has already made the decision to put them out of their misery unless DA4 is miraculously some huge hit.

But why close them though? EA can easily find them a job, they can make skins for Apex Legends for example

 

[Shut0wen]

Dragon age is definitely make or break right now for bioware unless EA banks on mass effect 4 as life support if all goes down the drain though these writers imo havnt written anything great since dragon age origins