BioWare's co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have announced that they will be leaving the famed studio and the games industry completely.
Muzyka and Zeschuk have posted personal blog posts telling fans their future plans and why they have come to this decision.
This has been an incredibly difficult decision to make; after thinking about it for many months, I made the decision to retire from videogames back in early April 2012," - Ray Muzyka
Zeschuk expressed similar attitudes, going on to explain that his passion for making cutting edge games has simply waned.
This decision isn't without significant pain and regret, but it's also something I know I need to do, for myself and my family. I've reached an unexpected point in my life where I no longer have the passion that I once did for the company, for the games, and for the challenge of creation," - Greg Zeschuk
So what are the two co-founders of a famous gaming studio going to move onto exactly? For Zeschuk it's all about beer.
After my departure I'm going to be spending significant time with family and friends, as well as pursuing some personal passion-driven projects related to craft beer. The main project I will be working on is a web-based interview show called The Beer Diaries where I interview notable brewers and showcase their beers."
Muzyka, on the other hand, will be pursuing entrepreneurship. "I've largely personally achieved what I wanted in videogames; I now desire to take on a brand new entrepreneurial challenge,
Muzyka has his sights set on new entrepreneurial efforts.
I believe strongly in the power of free enterprise to enable sustainable change, so my next 'chapter' will likely focus on an entirely new industry, something exciting, different and frankly downright scary - investing in and mentoring new entrepreneurs, and more specifically, the field of social/impact investing."
The pair co-founded BioWare in 1995 after graduating in the medicine field, along with Augstine Yip who left the studio in 1997 to return to medicine. Zeschuk left his posiiton as general manager of BioWare Austin back in August, but to hear that both are retiring from the industry is surely a shock to most.
By Stephen Heller