BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian game development company. Since 2007, the company belongs to the U.S. game publisher Electronic Arts.
History
The company was founded by Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in February 1995. The name of the studio is to develop an allusion both to the completed medical studies of all three founders as well as on the company's goal, software for people. At the beginning, the company developed medical teaching software for the University of Alberta, all founders were also incidentally working as doctors. The company's first product was the program Gastroenterology Patient Simulator, a program to teach medical students in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Finally, the company turned to the game development and has published 1996 Interplay Entertainment, the first book Shattered Steel. BioWare developed the Infinity Engine, which was based on the Dungeons & Dragons rules for the development of computer role-playing games. Yip left the company in 1997 and turned back to the medicine.
BioWare itself claims to want to offer the " best narrative games in the world [ ... ] ".
In October 2004, reported the game magazine Gamestar, that it's BioWare for the second time in a row, managed to get a list of the 100 best employers in Canada, which is created by Mediacorp Canada and Maclean 's Magazine. Some other awards are given in the website.
In a 300 - million-dollar merger BioWare went the end of 2005 with the American developer Pandemic Studios, a partnership. With registered capital of private equity firm Elevation Partners, VG Holding Corp. was founded, were its subsidiaries Pandemic and Bioware. Two years later, in October 2007, it was announced that publisher Electronic Arts, VG Holding Corp. - and thus Pandemic and Bioware - has been bought for the amount of about 860 million U.S. dollars. The acquisition was completed in January 2008 ..
Opposite IGN gave Ray Muzyka in May 2008 that BioWare distributed on BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Austin occupy more than 500 employees in seven teams.
In March 2009, BioWare announced the formation of a new studio known in Montreal. In June, EA announced a merge of BioWare and Mythic Entertainment ( Fairfax, Virginia ) to a RPG / MMO Group of EA within Group. The leadership of this group was transferred BioWare founders Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk was appointed Group Creative Officer. At the same Mythic founder Mark Jacobs left the company, so the merger was also seen as a subordination of Mythic Studios at BioWare. BioWare entertained under the name BioWare San Francisco in EA 's headquarters in Redwood City, a team for games in social networks (formerly EA2D ) and a team to support the European Community in Galway (Ireland).
On 1 December 2011 Electronic Arts took over the Developer clicking nation, renamed it to BioWare Sacramento. Together with BioWare San Francisco founded the new studio from now on the BioWare Social area. As part of the Video Game Awards 2011 transmitter SpikeTV parent company Electronic Arts announced on 10 December 2011 that the EA development studio Victory Games in Los Angeles in the future under the name BioWare Victory on a sequel to the title Command & Conquer: 'll work generals. BioWare has since acted increasingly as own label within the games group.
On September 18, 2012 gave the two remaining founder, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, their departure from the company known. On the same day it was announced that BioWare Ireland will expand to EA's central customer service center for Europe and therefore will no longer will operate under the BioWare label. In November 2012 it was announced that BioWare Mythic and BioWare Victory no longer operate under the BioWare name and renamed in Mythic or Victory Games were. In addition, in March 2013 it was announced that BioWare San Francisco (formerly EA2D ) was closed. In June 2013, finally, BioWare Sacramento EA has been renamed Capital Games.
In September 2013 Matthew Bromberg was previously general manager of the studio Austin, appointed Group General Manager, who thus succeeded to the successor of BioWare's Zeschuk and Muzyka - founder. Bromberg's successor as General Manager Austin was Jeff Hickman, director of the Studio, however, remained in Bromberg's hands. He was also given so that the control of the Canadian studios in Edmonton and Montreal under the direction of the local general manager Aaryn Flynn, as well as the studio Victory Games and Games under Waystone Jon Van Caneghem.
Development studios
- BioWare Edmonton, founded Studio
- BioWare Austin (since 2006)
- BioWare Montreal ( since 2009)
Former Studios
- BioWare Mythic (formerly Mythic Entertainment, incorporated in 2009, spun off in 2012 )
- BioWare Ireland ( founded in 2011, spun off as EA Ireland 2012)
- BioWare Victory ( Victory Games, incorporated in 2011, spun off in 2012 )
- BioWare Sacramento (formerly clicking nation, acquisition and integration among BioWare Social 2011, 2013 as the EA Capital Games outsourced )
- BioWare San Francisco (formerly EA2D, incorporated under BioWare Social 2011, closed 2012)
Games
- Shattered Steel ( PC: 1996)
- Baldur 's Gate (PC: 1998 )
- Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast ( PC: 1999)
- MDK2 (PC, Dreamcast, 2000)
- Baldur 's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC: 2000 )
- MDK2: Armageddon (PlayStation 2: 2001)
- Baldur 's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (PC: 2001 )
- Neverwinter Nights (PC: 2002 )
- Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide (PC: 2003 )
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC, Xbox: 2003 )
- Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark Empire ( PC: 2003)
- Jade Empire (Xbox: 2005, PC: 2007)
- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (Nintendo DS, 2008)
- Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, 2009)
- Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, 2010)
- Dragon Age 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, 2011)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC: 2011)
Technologies
To implement their own games, BioWare developed graphics engine, which can also be licensed from other studios:
- Aurora Engine ( Neverwinter Nights, among others licensed for The Witcher )
- Eclipse Engine ( Dragon Age: Origins )
- Infinity Engine ( Baldur 's Gate series, Planescape Torment, among others licensed for and the Icewind Dale series)
- Lycium Engine ( Dragon Age 2)
- Odyssey Engine ( Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ).