BioWare lead writer leaves gaming industry

Drew Karpyshn, lead writer at BioWare, who’s notable for more than just writing the stories for Mass Effect 1, a large portion of Mass Effect 2, Knights of the Old Republic, The Old Republic, and much more, has left BioWare- and the gaming industry altogether. He has decided to work on his “”novels and other non-video game related projects”.

He is also known for having worked on Jade Empire, the Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Night games, and the high acclaimed Mass Effect and Star Wars tie-in novels.

His leaving BioWare, he said, was completely his decision, and he left under “completely amicable” circumstances.

“I’m proud of everything we accomplished, and I know going forward that BioWare will continue to live up to its well deserved reputation for making the best story driven games in the industry,” he  revealed via his personal blog.

“The story and dialog in any BioWare game is the result of an entire team of writers working together, and I often felt I received an excessive amount of the credit for the games we created.

“The Dragon Age games and the continued success of the Mass Effect series after my departure make it pretty clear that BioWare can get along just fine without me, and I’m looking forward to experiencing the games as a fan rather than from the other side of the fence. (I alluded to this earlier when I was talking about ME3. That’s a little writer’s trick called foreshadowing.)

“I realize some of you may be shocked by this announcement. Maybe even disappointed. (And others simply won’t care. But it’s my website, so I’m going to ramble on.) My identity has been closely tied with BioWare ever since I crawled into the public eye, and I know it’s a risk to move away from my comfort zone. However, I feel that’s an essential step for every creative artist to take at some point. It keeps us fresh, it keeps us energized.

“Even if you are someone who is going to miss my contributions to the video game world, I hope you’ll be somewhat mollified by the fact that I’m going to have more time for novels, screenplays and other projects. (Like finally finishing Children of Fire, the first novel in my original fantasy series, which I’ve been perpetually working on for almost a decade.)”

Well, we most certainly miss your work, Drew, and we’ll always remember the great stories you’ve told so far. And we’re looking forward to more of your work in the future!