Farewell, BioWare: The studio that made our choices matter

BioWare’s closure marks the end of an era for role-playing games. From Knights of the Old Republic to Mass Effect and Dragon Age, the studio created immersive worlds, memorable characters and consequential choices that shaped generations of players.

Hyderabad: On October 21, Electronic Arts announced the layoff of 400 employees – a move aimed at balancing the books following the gaming giant’s acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Devastatingly, the restructuring also brought the closure of one of the most iconic studios under EA’s umbrella: BioWare.

Founded in 1995 in Edmonton, Canada, by medical school graduates Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, BioWare became a pioneer of fantasy and role-playing games, developing genre-defining titles like Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

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Acquired by EA in October 2007, just a month before the release of the original Mass Effect, BioWare achieved both critical and commercial success with both the Mass Effect trilogy and the Dragon Age series, which debuted in November 2009. Through these flagship franchises, BioWare revolutionised video games through narrative design, player choice, and the evolution of meaningful open-world storytelling.

The rise and fall of BioWare has been well documented by several columns this week. In this piece, I would like to celebrate the studio’s highs and forget that they were also responsible for 2019’s Anthem and 2017’s Mass Effect: Andromeda (incidentally, the first game I ever reviewed for Game On).

Few developers have ever been able to resist the allure of live-service games’ infinite wealth, and BioWare was just another casualty in that gold rush. The course correction came too late; by the time they returned to Dragon Age and Mass Effect, the magic had already come unstuck.

Despite the pitfalls, the highs were undeniable. To this day, I have yet to find a playable Star Wars title as complete and endlessly replayable as Knights of the Old Republic.

Similarly, the Paragon and Renegade dynamics in Mass Effect set a benchmark for player agency: the choices you made as Commander Shepard through that iconic red-and-blue dialogue wheel, the alliances you forged, the crewmates you saved or left behind, and the romances you nurtured.

Dragon Age was no different. Be it Origins or Dragon Age II, despite their clumsy action sequences, the narratives were rich and deep. I remember spending over 150 hours in 2014’s Inquisition just to finish the campaign and try to craft the best staff for fire magic. The game wasn’t pathbreaking by any means, but it worked brilliantly on my PS4 as I hunted dragons, re-encountered Leliana, and forged bonds with Cassandra, Varric, Vivienne, and Dorian.

When BioWare closes, it isn’t just the Mass Effect and Dragon Age universes that shutter; it is the possibility of finding that specific, relatable otherworldly magic that somehow speaks to our lives.

I find it hard to believe we will be living in a world where that option no longer exists. With Mass Effect 5 reportedly in active development and roughly 12 to 18 months away from release, it feels unimaginable that we will never get to experience it.

We deserved that much, at least. No, I am not crying; you are — I dare you to say anything else.