Drew Karpyshyn announced that he is now working at the newly formed development studio Archetype Entertainment. He also explains his departure from Bioware. He was supposed to be working on Anthem .
Who is Drew Karpyshyn? Karpyshyn was long engaged as a writer at Bioware and contributed to the stories of some well-known games. These include:
- Baldur’s Gate 2
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Mass Effect 1 and 2
- Star Wars: The Old Republic
- Anthem
Additionally, he is the author of several novels related to the Mass Effect series and Star Wars. In March 2018, he left Bioware to work as a freelancer and write more books. At that time, it was still in the middle of Anthem’s production – fans had hoped he would bring a special story magic to the online MMO.
Now he has announced that he has joined the recently founded development studio Archetype Entertainment as Lead Writer.
What does Archetype do? The development studio was founded by the D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast. Under the leadership of former Bioware employee James Ohlen, a science fiction RPG in the style of Mass Effect is being created.
Bioware became too commercial
This is what Drew Karpyshyn says about his departure from Bioware: According to him, it was initially his dream job to work at Bioware and develop epic games like Baldur’s Gate or Mass Effect. However, as success grew, the studio changed.
“We became more commercial. We were less able to do what we loved, and the teams were pressured to develop games based on market research rather than our creative instincts and passions. My dream job became just a job, and I lost the enthusiasm and passion that I once had.”
Drew Karpyshyn
What was the situation like at Bioware? Game journalist Jason Schreier published a report in April 2019 about the conditions at BioWare that prevailed during the development of Anthem.
- There was said to have been brutal crunch, exhausting the developers
- Many employees allegedly left Bioware or became ill from stress
- The team lost the vision for Anthem
- EA head Patrick Söderlund was said to have been unimpressed by an initial demo of the game, leading to a restart of development
- The Anthem that we ultimately got was said to have been created in just 18 months
- There were also many problems with the Frostbite engine
Since the release version of Anthem was anything but well-received, Bioware has now announced that they are working on a redesign, a sort of Anthem 2.0.
The magic is back
What is Drew Karpyshyn doing now? As Lead Writer, he is responsible for the story of the new game currently being developed at Archetype. He says this about his new employer:
With Archetype, my passion has been rekindled. The feeling in the studio reminds me of my early days at Bioware, I can feel the magic in the air. And although I can’t dive too deep into the details of our work yet, we are already generating a lot of excitement in the industry. I know we have big shoes to fill.
At Bioware, I was part of a legacy that will last forever. We created some of the most beloved CRPGs of the last two decades. But I firmly believe that at Archetype we have the talent and the opportunity to create something just as amazing!”
Drew Karpyshyn
