Mass Effect writer Drew Karpyshyn left BioWare recently and has joined James Ohlen at his new studio, Archetype Entertainment. Ohlen himself is a former BioWare employee, where he worked on several successful games like Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age Origins and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Ohlen left the company in July 2018, ending his run with BioWare after 22 long years.
Karpyshyn announced his reunion with Ohlen on his blog. "I’m proud to announce that I’m the lead writer for Archetype Entertainment!" Karpyshyn wrote. "Founded by James Ohlen—the creative genius behind BioWare hits like Baldur’s Gate, KOTOR and Dragon Age—Archetype is a new video game studio under the Wizards of the Coast umbrella… and I haven’t been this excited to work on a project in a long, long time! (Side note: I’ve always enjoyed working with WotC; they even published my first novel!)"
Karpyshyn praised BioWare, saying that working with them was "a dream job—talented people working together to create epic games" However, he was also critical of the studio for becoming too corporate. He claims that when the studio became more successful, it started pushing out games depending on “market research” rather than “creative instincts and passions.”
Karpyshyn isn’t the only one to leave BioWare and join Ohlen’s new firm. Chad Robertson, who was the Head of Live Service at BioWare, also jumped ships and joined Archetype as the company's General Manager. Archetype is currently working on a "story-driven, multi-platform roleplaying game set in a new science fiction universe." Nothing much is known about the game right now, and it could be a few years before Archetype pulls back the curtain.
So what do you think? Are you interested in Archetype's debut title? Are you sad to see Karpyshyn leave BioWare? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
