Acclaimed role-playing game developer BioWare announced today its first venture into the world of online role-playing with the revelation that the company has begun work on a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) title at is newly-opened studio in Austin, Texas. The Austin studio is the company’s second studio and the first to be located outside of BioWare’s home in Edmonton, Canada.
According to the company, the new studio, called BioWare Austin, has “recruited some of the top talent in MMO and RPG development…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.
We’ll see, we’ll see. This industry moves at a glacial speed so it will take a while before we’ll see the results.
This is the second studios after Blizzard that has proven its worth before stepping in the mmorpg genre.
I’ll avoid to make jokes about bunnyhopping but I wouldn’t be surprised if those guys will jump on a new company even before the first product is released.
Incestuous industry, what it will breed this time?
EDIT: It’s a fantasy game. Lietgardis spotted the job ads:
Familiarity with fantasy role-playing games is a must.
From J.:
Walton’s been working in games since the 1970s, and was studio head at Kesmai in the mid-90s (Air Warrior, Legends of Kesmai) just before EA took them over and shut them down. After UO2 got cancelled, EA moved him out to California to work for Maxis, but he came back to Austin soon after The Sims Online launched, and he’d probably rather forget all about that now.
Vogel produced Meridian 59 for 3DO before he went to Origin.