Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka announce BioWare departure
BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have both announced they are leaving BioWare. Neither indicate a return to video games in the forseeable future.
Both have written blogs to discuss their retirement.
Ray Muzyka said he has "decided to move on to pursue an entirely different set of challenges," noting his decision to retire from video games was made "back in April 2012," when he gave EA "six months’ notice."
"I feel the need now to move on to a new chapter in my career," said Muzyka. "With the growth of BioWare to multiple locations as part of a public company, following two decades of multiple successful product launches across many platforms and business models, I’ve largely personally achieved what I wanted in videogames; I now desire to take on a brand new entrepreneurial challenge.
"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."
Zeschuk said he has "decided it’s time to move on and pursue something new," and it was a decision he made with himself and family in mind.
"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," he said.
"For the people I have had the privilege of working with, however, my passion burns as brightly as it did the day we started. The people I work with now, and that I have worked with in the past, have inspired me and really made all of the challenges we’ve collectively faced over the years worthwhile.
"Some of you will be curious what I’ll be doing next, and I can state that I’m not going to be working in games for a while, and there’s a strong possibility that I won’t be back. 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. If things go well, I’ll work on other beer-related shows, apps and projects. If not, I’ll have drunk a lot of tasty beers and may be back in games or even something else completely different. Ultimately time will tell."
Rumors of the duo's departure have been swirling regarding Muzyka's departure since spring, and back in August, rumors regarding both he and Zeschuk's departure surfaced.