Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Drew Karpyshyn, lead writer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect 1 and co-lead on many of BioWare’s other titles, has announced his retirement from video games.
He will now focus on books, screenplays and other projects – this includes finishing Children of Fire, the first book in his fantasy series.
Karpyshyn’s career at BioWare also includes Mass Effect 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights. He also penned three Mass Effect novels – Revelation, Ascension and Retribution – and is writing a Star Wars: The Old Republic book.
“I’m leaving to focus more time and energy on my novels and other non-video game related projects,” announced Karpyshyn on his blog. “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.
“During my time at BioWare I worked on a number of beloved and award winning titles. I’m proud of everything we accomplished, and I know going forward that BioWare will continue to live up to its well deserved reputation for making the best story driven games in the industry. The story and dialogue in any BioWare game is the result of an entire team of writers working together, and I often felt I received an excessive amount of the credit for the games we created. 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 alluded to this earlier when I was talking about ME3. That’s a little writer’s trick called foreshadowing.)
“I realize some of you may be shocked by this announcement. Maybe even disappointed. (And others simply won’t care. But it’s my website, so I’m going to ramble on.) My identity has been closely tied with BioWare ever since I crawled into the public eye, and 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.”
If Drew needs any help, our very own Neon Kelly is quite the expert when it comes to factually accurate stories set in the Mass Effect universe.