BioWare facts for kids
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Headquarters at the Epcor Tower
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1 February 1995 |
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| Headquarters |
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Canada
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Key people
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| Products | List of BioWare video games |
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Number of employees
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320 (2019) |
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| Subsidiaries | See § Subsidiaries |
BioWare is a Canadian company that makes video games. It is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The company started in 1995. It was founded by Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip, who were all medical doctors. Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zeschuk also helped start the company.
Since 2007, a big American company called Electronic Arts has owned BioWare. BioWare is famous for making role-playing video games (RPGs). These are games where you play as a character and make choices that affect the story.
Some of their most popular games are Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. They also created their own game worlds. These include the Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age series. In 2011, BioWare launched a huge online role-playing game called Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Contents
The Story of BioWare
How BioWare Started
BioWare was started by Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. They were joined by Trent Oster, his brother Brent, Greg's cousin Marcel, and Augustine Yip. Ray, Greg, and Augustine had just finished medical school. They were good at computer programming, which they used for school projects.
The three doctors also loved playing video games. They decided to try making their own games. Their success in medicine helped them get money to start the company. They put together $100,000 to make their first game. BioWare officially began on February 1, 1995.
Early Games: Shattered Steel and Baldur's Gate
BioWare's first game was called Shattered Steel. It was a game where you controlled a giant robot. They showed a demo of the game to ten different publishers. Seven of them wanted to publish the game. BioWare signed a deal with Interplay Entertainment.
Shattered Steel came out in 1996. It was a "modest success" and sold pretty well. Players liked that their weapons could make craters in the ground. They also liked being able to shoot weapons off enemy robots. A sequel was planned but never made.
The people at BioWare loved role-playing games. So, their next project was an RPG. They showed a demo called Battleground: Infinity to Interplay. Interplay thought the game engine would be great for a Dungeons & Dragons game. So, Infinity was changed to fit the Dungeons & Dragons rules.
This led to the game Baldur's Gate. It took three years to make. During this time, the doctors still worked in medicine. But the game needed so much work that Ray and Greg decided to focus on games full-time. Augustine Yip continued his medical practice.
Baldur's Gate sold over two million copies. It was a huge hit! The game's engine, called the Infinity Engine, was then used for other popular games. These included Planescape: Torment and the Icewind Dale series. An expansion pack for Baldur's Gate was also released.
Big Changes: EA Buys BioWare and New Games
After Baldur's Gate, BioWare made an action game called MDK2. It was their first game for consoles like the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. MDK2 was praised, but BioWare soon returned to the Baldur's Gate series.
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn came out in 2000. It also sold two million copies, just like the first game. BioWare then worked with a company called Infogrames, which later became Atari. They made Neverwinter Nights.
After that, BioWare created Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. They worked with different publishers like LucasArts and Microsoft.
In 2005, BioWare joined forces with another game company, Pandemic Studios. They formed a new partnership called VG Holding Corp. Then, in 2007, Electronic Arts bought VG Holding Corp. for a lot of money. This meant BioWare became part of EA, but they kept their own name and identity.
In 2007, BioWare released Mass Effect. It was a science fiction role-playing game. The next year, they made Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood for the Nintendo DS. This was their first game for a handheld game console.
EA also announced that BioWare would team up with Mythic Entertainment. This led to new BioWare studios opening. One studio in Austin, Texas, was made to work on Star Wars: The Old Republic. Another studio opened in Montreal, Quebec, to help with other projects.
Near the end of 2009, BioWare released a popular fantasy RPG called Dragon Age: Origins.
New Leaders and Popular Series
In 2010, BioWare released Mass Effect 2. It received many awards and was highly praised. The company also opened a new customer service office in Ireland. Between 2011 and 2012, BioWare released three big games.
One was the online game Star Wars: The Old Republic. The others were Dragon Age II and Mass Effect 3. After Mass Effect 3 came out, some players were unhappy with the ending. BioWare listened to their feedback. They released a free update called "Extended Cut" to add more to the endings.
In 2012, the two co-founders, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, announced they were leaving the gaming industry. After they left, new leaders took over at BioWare.
In 2013, The Walt Disney Company announced that Electronic Arts would make future Star Wars games. BioWare was already working on Star Wars games. In 2014, BioWare announced they were working on a new game series. They also announced an online RPG called Shadow Realms, but it was later canceled.
Some important people involved in making games left BioWare during this time. These included Casey Hudson, who created the Mass Effect series. However, Drew Karpyshyn, a writer for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, returned in 2015.
In 2017, BioWare released Mass Effect: Andromeda. This game also received mixed reviews. Because of this, Electronic Arts decided to pause the Mass Effect series for a while. The BioWare Montreal studio, which led Andromeda's development, was merged with another studio.
In June 2017, BioWare showed off a new action RPG called Anthem. Casey Hudson returned to BioWare as its new general manager. Other key designers and writers also left the company around this time.
In 2019, BioWare moved to a new headquarters in the Epcor Tower in downtown Edmonton.
Recent Years: Remasters and New Adventures
In November 2020, BioWare announced Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. This was a remastered version of the first three Mass Effect games. They also announced a brand-new Mass Effect game was starting development.
In December 2020, Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah, who was a producer for the Dragon Age series, both left BioWare. Electronic Arts said that work on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games would continue. A teaser trailer for the next Mass Effect game was shown later that month.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was released in May 2021. In 2023, some BioWare employees left the company.
How Their Games Are Made: Game Engines
From 1998 to 2011, BioWare created their own game engines. These are like the main software that games run on. Some of these engines were also used by other companies to make their games. BioWare also released tools that let players create their own adventures using the game engines.
BioWare made the Infinity Engine for the Baldur's Gate series (1998–2001). These were 2D role-playing video games. Other companies also used this engine for games like Planescape: Torment. Later, a company called Beamdog updated this engine to make "Enhanced" versions of these classic games.
The Aurora Engine was the next step after the Infinity Engine. It allowed for full 3D worlds and better lighting. BioWare used it for Neverwinter Nights in 2002. This game came with tools that let players create their own game levels. Many fans used these tools to make new adventures. Other studios also used updated versions of the Aurora Engine for their games.
BioWare then used an updated Aurora engine, called the Odyssey Engine. They used it for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) and Jade Empire (2005). The Odyssey Engine was the first BioWare engine that could make games for video game consoles. Both Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire first came out on the Xbox.
The Eclipse Engine came after the Odyssey Engine. It was used for Dragon Age: Origins (2009) and its expansion. Like Neverwinter Nights, Origins also came with tools for players to create their own game content. An improved version of the Eclipse Engine was used for Dragon Age II (2011).
In 2004, BioWare started using Unreal Engine 3. This engine was used for the original Mass Effect trilogy (2007–2012). It was also used for the remastered Mass Effect: Legendary Edition in 2021.
Since 2013, all new BioWare games are made using DICE's Frostbite engine. This includes Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Anthem. This change was part of Electronic Arts' plan to use one main engine across all its game studios.
BioWare's Other Studios
- BioWare Austin is in Austin, Texas. It was started in 2006 to make Star Wars: The Old Republic. This studio also worked on the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect games.
Past Studios
- BioWare Montreal was in Montreal, Quebec. It helped with Mass Effect games, including Mass Effect: Andromeda. It later joined another EA studio in 2017.
- BioWare San Francisco was closed in 2013.
- BioWare Mythic was renamed and then closed in 2014.
- Victory Games was closed in 2013.
- Waystone Games made a game called Dawngate, which was canceled in 2014.
- BioWare Sacramento was renamed EA Capital Games in 2014.
Games Made by BioWare
Awards and Achievements
BioWare has won many awards for its games.
- In 2010, Spike TV named BioWare "Studio of the Year".
- The company was also inducted into a "Hall of Fame" in 2010.
In 2008, BioWare was named one of Alberta's Top Employers. This was a special recognition in their home province.
In 2018, BioWare's co-founders, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, received a high honor. They were named members of the Order of Canada. This was for their amazing work in the video game industry.
Want to Learn More?
In Spanish: BioWare para niños
