After a long and bumpy road, two companions have this week chosen to leave BioWare’s adventuring party. Casey Hudson, the project director for Mass Effect before becoming the studio’s general manager, has departed the company after 23 years along with Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah. Those are some big departures, but BioWare insists they’ll have no effect on the studio’s upcoming remasters and long-distant sequels.
EA’s chief studios officer Laura Miele made the announcement in a post earlier today. While Darrah’s position will be taken up by Blizzard alum Christian Dailey, Hudson’s position will be a little harder to fill.
Casey Hudson had left the studio before, popping off to Microsoft for three years before returning to become BioWare’s general manager. Now, over two decades after stepping through the company’s front door for the first time, he’s decided to move on to some unannounced future.
“Arriving at this point has been an opportunity for me to reflect on my own future, and 2020 has been a year that forced all of us to re-imagine how we think about work and life, Hudson wrote in his own statement. “For me, it’s been the realization that I still have tremendous energy to create, but also that I need to try something different. I’m not sure exactly what that is yet, but I know that I want to start by rediscovering my creative passion through more personal work.”
Executive producer Mark Darrah, who spent the bulk of his BioWare tenure heading up the Dragon Age series, wrote his own farewell to the studio and assured readers that the long-dormant RPG is “in good hands” under new exec Dailey.
“This has been a very difficult decision for me. The team of amazing developers on Dragon Age, make my life fuller and better. They have taught me so much. But the strength of the team is also what makes this possible. I know that Dragon Age won’t just survive without me, it will thrive.”
Beyond continuing attempts to salvage Anthem, BioWare recently announced Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, remastering all three (and only three) of their original space romps. They’re also making a new one of those – though with Dragon Age 4 still no closer to surfacing, it’ll likely be some time before we hear word from either.