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BioWare co-founder: game execs "have never made a game" and don't get it

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

In an interview with 80lv, Zeschuk explained that executives rising through business tracks do not understand the full cycle of game creation. He pointed out that BioWare's long-term development cycles inherently clashed with corporate demands for predictable, yearly sports releases. While Zeschuk does not regret the original sale to EA, he noted that problems were likely to emerge following EA's acquisition by Saudi Arabia's PIF.

Key points

  • Modern gaming executives often lack the foundational development background needed to und…: Modern gaming executives often lack the foundational development background needed to understand the realities of game production.
  • Shifting corporate ownership and reliance on AI tools threaten the creation of complex, l…: Shifting corporate ownership and reliance on AI tools threaten the creation of complex, long-term narrative titles.
  • Displaced developers face severe employment headwinds across an industry destabilized by…: Displaced developers face severe employment headwinds across an industry destabilized by studio shutdowns and restructuring.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

'None of these people have ever made a game,' BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk says of game industry executives: 'They just don't know how it works'

In a rare interview, Zeschuk said the closure of BioWare is sad, but his greater concern is for the people put out of work.

It's been almost 15 years since BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka announced their retirements from the videogame industry, and they've been resolute about staying out of it ever since: Muzyka continues to head up the ThresholdImpact investment firm he founded in 2012 and holds multiple roles at the University of Alberta, while Zeschuk owns Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company, also based in Alberta, where he works with a small handful of other BioWare veterans.

But Zeschuk stepped back into the videogame spotlight, briefly, following last week's closure of BioWare by parent company Electronic Arts, telling 80lv that he got the news hours after it happened because he was on a fishing trip, and by the time he flew home a couple days later, he'd "already shelved it away."

"I wasn't…

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