BioWare co-founder explains his plan to take over EA from the inside

BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk left the company all the way back in 2012, but before departing BioWare, he had a hope to take over EA from the inside. A lofty dream, to be sure, but one that he had a plan to carry out.

Speaking on the My Perfect Console podcast (via Time Extension), Zeschuk spoke about BioWare getting bought by EA back in 2007, and his dislike of working for such a big company. "EA gives you enough rope to hang yourself," he said. "You have to learn to work within the structure and I think we did quite well if you look at the Mass Effects [that] came out there... But you have to understand how to work within a big company. And, for me, that was the end. It was like, 'Oh, I don't like big companies.' So I knew by year two that I was going to leave at some point. I just didn't know when."

Zeschuk continued saying that big companies can only "exploit properties." He argued they are more money driven than anything else, whereas he realised he was more fond of making games.

However, Zeschuk still spent a few years working for EA, with two of those years spent with Star Wars: The Old Republic, the MMO that he hoped would be a mega hit. "If it was super successful, super duper successful, Ray [Muzkya] and I would have probably launched a bid to try and take over EA from the inside," he said. "But it needed to be like $2 billion a year successful. But it didn't work out."

Star Wars: The Old Republic grew to be a successful MMO, especially with the narrative flair BioWare is well-known for, but it wasn't quite big enough to buy out EA. Perhaps nothing would ever have been.