Mass Effect 2 Lead Writer Leaves Bioware For Second Time

Remember Drew Karpyshyn? The Bioware writer is perhaps best known for his work as the lead writer for Mass Effect 1 and 2. Though he left the studio in the period between Mass Effect 2 and 3 to work on a novel trilogy, Karpyshyn would return to work on Anthem, the upcoming shared world shooter that was delayed to 2019. Or at least we thought he was – Karpyshyn has recently announced on his personal site that he’s leaving Bioware again.

Karpyshyn’s reason for leaving is to “pursue a number of other projects, including more original novels, an original sci-fi graphic novel I’m co-creating, and freelance gaming work.” He also notes that he’ll be working on something with FogBank Entertainment. The company’s announcement states its focus is on narrative games with branching storylines. To that effect, Karpyshyn is “not leaving games entirely”. Just Anthem.

Now, it’s easy to have some concern for Bioware which has seen the departure of Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw and studio general manager Aaryn Flynn (though Casey Hudson returned to take over as GM). How this will affect Anthem in the long run remains to be seen. Let us know what you think in the comments.