BioWare Opens New Studio to Develop MMORPG
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BioWare Corp. Announces New "BioWare Austin" Studio
New Studio Recruiting for Massively Multiplayer Online RPG Project
EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2006--Canadian videogame developer BioWare Corp. has announced the opening of a new studio, BioWare Austin, based in Austin, Texas. It is the second of BioWare's studios and the first to be located outside of Canada.
BioWare Austin has already begun work on a Massively Multiplayer Online roleplaying game (MMORPG) title; the new game will mark BioWare's debut in the Massively Multiplayer Online space. BioWare has recruited some of the top talent in MMO and RPG development, both to manage the development efforts at BioWare Austin and to collaborate with the experienced team at BioWare Edmonton, to develop a game that combines the best of BioWare's great past games with a compelling persistent online experience. Joining the Austin team as lead designer is James Ohlen, BioWare's Creative Director, whose previous credits include lead or co-lead design roles on Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic(TM), Neverwinter Nights(TM), Baldur's Gate(TM) and Baldur's Gate II(TM). Also leading the BWA team are MMO veterans Richard Vogel and Gordon Walton. Richard Vogel brings 15 years of experience to BioWare Austin, previously serving as VP of Product Development for Sony Online Entertainment's Austin studio, as well as launching Ultima Online(TM) as a senior producer at Origin. Gordon Walton recently served as VP, studio manager and executive producer at Sony Online Entertainment as well as VP and Executive Producer at Electronic Arts.
"BioWare is committed to a seamless collaboration between our two studios to ensure the same high standards of quality and creativity our dedicated teams have always delivered," said Ray Muzyka, co-founder and Joint CEO of BioWare. "With our extensive heritage in the roleplaying genre, BioWare Austin is extremely well positioned to innovate in the massively multiplayer online space for BioWare's valued community of fans."
The new BioWare Austin comes soon after the formation of BioWare/Pandemic Studios, a partnership facilitated by private equity firm Elevation Partners. The new entity combines top videogame developers BioWare Corp., an industry leader in the role-playing game genre, and Pandemic Studios, an award-winning developer of best-selling action titles.
Both BioWare Austin and BioWare Edmonton currently have job openings for programmers, designers, artists, animators, world builders and writers, with new jobs being posted regularly. Applicants may view job postings and submit materials through jobs.bioware.com. BioWare Austin will also be recruiting, along with BioWare Edmonton and sister studios Pandemic Studios LA and Pandemic Australia, at the Game Developers Conference at the San Jose Convention Centre in San Jose, California, March 20-24, 2006.
ABOUT BIOWARE
BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company which develops computer and console video games focused on rich stories and memorable characters. BioWare's developers are hard at work on Mass Effect(TM), a brand new BioWare-created intellectual property, and an Xbox(TM) 360 exclusive, to be published by Microsoft. Mass Effect(TM) is an epic science-fiction role-playing game set in a spectacular new vision of the future. BioWare recently completed work on Jade Empire(TM), the first game based on a BioWare-created intellectual property. Jade Empire(TM) was released in April 2005 and has enjoyed critical and commercial success. BioWare is also hard at work on Dragon Age(TM), a high fantasy RPG set in another brand-new world created and owned by BioWare. BioWare's Technology Architecture Group is also developing the cutting-edge next-generation BioWare Eclipse Engine(TM) technology for multiple platforms. BioWare has an online fan community at www.bioware.com consisting of almost 3 million registered users who regularly connect to discuss the company's current and future games. In November 2004, the company launched the BioWare Online Store at store.bioware.com, where fans can purchase new content for their favorite BioWare titles and merchandise. Previously published projects include: the action-RPG of 2005 for Xbox, Jade Empire; the 2003 Game of the Year, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic(TM) for PC and Xbox; the award-winning Neverwinter Nights(TM) series; the genre-defining Baldur's Gate(TM) role-playing game series for the PC; MDK(TM)2 for Dreamcast and PC, MDK(TM)2: Armageddon for PlayStation®2, and Shattered Steel(TM). Employment information at BioWare can be found online at jobs.bioware.com.
ABOUT BIOWARE/PANDEMIC STUDIOS
BioWare/Pandemic Studios was formed through the fusion of two industry powerhouses and private equity firm, Elevation Partners. A leader in the action/adventure category, Pandemic joined forces in 2005 with BioWare, a company known for its role-playing games rich in story and character. Co-equal and complementary, the newly partnered video game studios are working both in tandem and separately to develop new, original titles as well as continuing to leverage the licensed franchises and owned-IP each is known for including: Mercenaries(TM), Destroy All Humans!(TM), Full Spectrum Warrior(TM), and Star Wars® Battlefront(TM) II from Pandemic and Mass Effect(TM), Dragon Age(TM), Baldur's Gate(TM), Neverwinter Nights(TM), Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic(TM) and Jade Empire(TM) from BioWare. Focused on next-generation platforms to create bold new concepts in entertainment, BioWare/Pandemic's studios are located in Los Angeles, California; Brisbane, Australia; Austin, Texas; and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For more information, please visit www.bioware.pandemicstudios.com.
I didn't see this one coming!
