BioWare Co-Founder Explains Departure

Greg Zeschuk cites “everything” as his reason for leaving BioWare.

When Greg Zeschuk, one of the founders of RPG giant BioWare, left his post after two decades on the job, responses ran the gamut from “go with God” to “good riddance.” A number of fans theorized that Zeschuk was upset with the company’s direction under EA, or the problems plaguing Star Wars: The Old Republic, or simply having worked the same job for twenty years. Recently, Zeschuk clarified his position – somewhat. Instead of a few specific reasons for heading out, the doctor-turned-designer-turned-beer-aficionado says that he was exhausted by the entire process of videogame development.

“Everything’s a factor,” says Zeschuk. “There’s nothing that’s not a factor, but there’s no single one thing.” Zeschuk describes game development at BioWare as intense, and says that he had been subjected to high pressure and stress on a very regular basis for every one of his company’s projects. “It’s sometimes rewarding and sometimes it’s not. And you just get tired of it after awhile.”

Zeschuk also understands the frustration that fans felt at his departure. Many gamers expressed disappointment with his decision, but Zeschuk does not believe that his future efforts would have lived up to his past ones. “I don’t think I would be as good as I was in that space historically. Like I said, the fire wasn’t there.” In spite of some harsh criticism that BioWare endured after Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3, Zeschuk still has positive feelings about his fans. “We are big boys and you have to be able to deal with that criticism. I totally get that passion. One of the absolutely exciting things about having worked in the game space is that the level of passion people have for what we create is insane.”

Since leaving BioWare, Zeschuk has been hard at work on a web show that highlights craft beers from around the world. This makes sense, of course: Kicking back after a day of work with a beer is a great way to relax, so kicking back after twenty years of work involves entire breweries.

Source: Polygon