Drew Karpyshyn, the lead writer behind many of Bioware's most popular titles, has announced that he is leaving the developer to pursue new projects.
In his personal blog he explained his decision to leave: "As of last week, I have officially retired from BioWare. (I'll give all you gamers a second to let that sink in. Just to be clear, the parting was completely amicable, and 100% my decision.)
For the past twelve years I've had the privilege to work at one of the best companies in the video game industry, side by side with the most talented and incredible group of people I've ever had the good fortune to know. I've enjoyed my time at BioWare immensely, but it's time for me to move on.
I'm leaving to focus more time and energy on my novels and other non-video game related projects. But even though I'll no longer be working on games for BioWare, I'm not going to be severing all ties with them. Many of my closest friends still work at the company, and I'm also in the process of writing the next Star Wars: The Old Republic novel, though I can't say too much about it yet."
He later added: "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 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."
For fans of Bioware's games, this will likely be viewed as disappointing news. Karpyshyn's contribution to some the most memorable games over the last decade cannot be ignored. Thanks for the all the memories Drew, and good luck for the future.