Drew Karpyshyn Joins Archetype, Slams BioWare in Blog Post

Drew Karpyshyn, the lead writer of the first (and the best) two Mass Effect games, announced this week on his blog he has joined Archetype Entertainment, the new studio created by Wizards of the Coast. The studio had previously poached other former BioWare employees including James Ohlen and Chad Robertson. In his revealing blog post, Karpyshyn shares some thoughts about his work at BioWare and his current position at Archetype.

“I’ve been in the video game industry for twenty years now. When I started at BioWare, everything was fresh and exciting. It was a dream job – talented people working together to create epic games like Baldur’s Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect and Dragon Age,” Karpyshyn writes. “But as we grew and became more successful, things changed. We became more corporate. We were less able to make what we loved, and the teams were pushed to create games based on market research rather than our creative instincts and passions. My dream job became just a job, and I lost the enthusiasm and excitement I once had.”

Archetype Entertainment is lead by James Ohlen, the lead designer of Baldur’s Gate series, Star Wars: KOTOR, and others. The studio is currently working on an unknown sci-fi project. Many players hope that they are able to bring the same quality as BioWare’s games were before.

“With Archetype, my passion has been rekindled. The feel in the studio reminds me of my early days at BioWare; I can feel the magic in the air,” Karpyshyn writes. “And even though I can’t get too deep into the specifics of what we’re working on yet, we’re already generating plenty of excitement in the industry.”