Trent Oster, one of the co-founders of BioWare, is working through the finances of a plan to bring the closed studio's role-playing series back, and the first developer he asked to join him has said yes. James Ohlen, the creative director behind Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins, answered Oster's public invitation on Sunday. Check out the official posts down below:
Oster replied to Ohlen a few minutes later with "Welcome to the resistance." Neither has announced a company, a funding partner or any talks with Electronic Arts, which still owns Mass Effect, Dragon Age and the rest of BioWare's catalog.
Why Oster Says The IP Comes First
EA announced on October 21 that it was closing BioWare and ending early development on the next Mass Effect. Since then, Oster has argued that rebuilding a team is only half of any rescue. "There are also couple parts, the IP and the game. One without the other is just making EA money," he wrote on Friday.
He described the result he wants in a separate post the same day: "To me, the best possible outcome would be a BioWare with a directive to make the kind of games we become known for and the community still love. No more chasing the business model of the month."
On Tuesday, Oster questioned whether the series would fare better if they stayed with EA. "EA has had two, well-funded swings at making RPGs with Andromeda and Veilguard. They had the teams and the financing, yet the outcomes were sub-optimal. Why would future attempts by EA be any different?" he wrote, referring to Mass Effect: Andromeda from 2017 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard from 2024.
A $200 Million Ballpark And 51 Spreadsheet Revisions
Oster has also put a rough price on a new Mass Effect. "The scary component of Mass Effect is the audience is going to want the best of 'AAA' development. Rough ballpark (based on contemporaries) is $200M+. That is a big number to commit up front. There has to be a bigger plan in place for the IP to make the math work," he posted on Thursday.
He later clarified that the figure describes player expectations set by games with budgets that size, adding, "I think there are efficiencies to be gained."
The modeling is happening in Excel. On Saturday, Oster said he was "huddled in front of a computer running scenarios" and had "just passed rev 30." On Tuesday evening he posted, "Tonight, I'm on revision #51."
The effort also has a political angle. When NDP MP Don Davies wrote on Friday that BioWare's developers "should be given the first opportunity" and federal support to buy the studio and run it themselves, Oster answered, "We should have a chat." Davies sponsors House of Commons e-petition e-7898, which asks Ottawa to give BioWare the capital to become independent from EA. That petition is explained in What Canada's BioWare Petition Can And Can't Do To Save Mass Effect.
Who Trent Oster And James Ohlen Are
Oster was part of the founding group at BioWare in Edmonton in the 1990s. After leaving the company, he co-founded Beamdog, the studio behind the Enhanced Editions of Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II and Neverwinter Nights, which put several of BioWare's early RPGs on modern platforms.
Ohlen spent 22 years at BioWare. He was lead designer on Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, then led design on Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins before directing the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. He left BioWare in 2018 and founded Archetype Entertainment under Wizards of the Coast the following year. Oster's invitation refers to Ohlen working on "his own adventure setting."
Ohlen's answer named Dragon Age, not Mass Effect. Origins launched in 2009 and introduced the Grey Wardens and the land of Ferelden, and Ohlen served as its creative director.
The #SaveMassEffect Campaign Keeps Going
Fans have kept up pressure since the closure. On N7 Day last Saturday, the organizers behind @WeAreMassEffect released a video featuring most of the original trilogy's voice cast, and the post passed 25,000 likes. A Change.org petition aimed at EA had passed 300,000 signatures as of November 6.
Oster joined in the same day: "We need to save all the great work Bioware did over the years. Mass Effect is a part of pop culture now and should continue to be." The original closure announcement is covered in EA Is Shutting Down BioWare After More Than 30 Years, And The Next Mass Effect Is Gone With It.
Would you back a studio led by Trent Oster and James Ohlen taking over Mass Effect and Dragon Age, and which series should it make first?
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