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    BioWare

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    BioWare is a game company that is currently owned by Electronic Arts (EA). It specializes in making role playing games that usually involve deep and engaging stories.

    Short summary describing this company.

    BioWare last edited by tearhead on 08/16/18 01:57PM View full history

    Overview

    BioWare is a Canadian development studio owned by Electronic Arts. It is most famous for its highly praised role-playing games including Baldur's Gate and the Mass Effect series. There are currently three studios using the BioWare name: BioWare Edmonton, BioWare Montreal, and BioWare Austin. The developer has received multiple awards including Spike TV's 2010 Video Game Awards: Studio of the Year.

    History

    Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk
    Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk

    Bioware is one of the most acclaimed RPG developers in the western world. It was founded in February 1995 by Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. Zeschuk and Muzyka previously completed medical degrees at the University of Alberta. Zeschuk has recently finished his MBA at Queen's School of Business. Yip left the company in 1997 to return to medicine, but Zeschuk and Muzyka remained and still acted as heads of the studio untill they left the company in 2012.

    Bioware is famous for such Dungeon and Dragons inspired games as Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. The company originally developed games exclusively for the PC platform, but In 2003 the company released Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic for the Xbox in collaboration with LucasArts. This game was the first of several games that Bioware would develop for Microsoft's consoles. It was followed in 2004 by Jade Empire and in 2007 by Mass Effect for the Xbox 360. In 2005 Bioware merged with fellow developer Pandemic Studios.

    Acquisition by EA

    Soon after releasing Mass Effect, Bioware and Pandemic were purchased by publishing giant Electronic Arts. Ray Muzyka became a general manager and senior vice president at Electronic Arts after he and Zeschuk sold the company. Their first multi-platform release with EA was Dragon Age: Origins in Nov. 2009, dubbed a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate series. Less than three months later, they released the award winning Mass Effect 2.

    BioWare's first expansion separate from the Edmonton headquarters, BioWare Austin, was created 2006 to make Star Wars: The Old Republic. The game launched in December 2011 as an MMORPG with a payed subscription model. The Old Republic has since adopted a free-to-play model and remains in continuous development.

    On Mar. 2, 2009 BioWare announced another new studio, this time in Montreal. BioWare Montreal worked on parts of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, and are now making the fourth major Mass Effect game.

    Engines

    Bioware along with developing games, has created several Engines, including the Infinity Engine, Aurora Engine, and the Odyssey Engine. Their latest is the Eclipse Engine that powers the Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2.

    The first three Mass Effect games used the Unreal 3 engine. Dragon Age: Inquisition and the fourth Mass Effect game use Dice's Frostbite 3.

    Awards

    • In 2010, co-founders Ray Muzyka & Greg Zeschuk were inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame.
    • BioWare were awarded in the "Best Studio" category at Spike VGA 2010.

    Games

    Game

    Platform(s)

    Release Date

    Genre(s)

    Shattered Steel

    DOS, Mac OS

    September 30, 1996

    Sci-fi mech simulator

    Baldur’s Gate

    Microsoft Windows, Mac OS

    November 30. 1998

    RPG

    Baldur’s Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast

    Microsoft Windows, Mac OS

    April 30, 1999

    RPG

    MDK2

    Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, Playstation 2, Wii

    Dreamcast - March 21, 2000

    Microsoft Windows - May 21, 2000

    PlayStation 2 - March 26, 2001

    Wii - May 9, 2011

    Third-person shooter

    Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn

    Microsoft Windows, Mac OS

    September 24, 2000

    RPG

    Baldur’s Gate II: Throne

    Microsoft Windows, Mac OS

    June 21, 2001

    RPG

    Neverwinter Nights

    Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

    Microsoft Windows - June 18, 2002

    Mac OS - August 2003

    Linux - June 20, 2003

    RPG

    Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide

    Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

    Microsoft Windows - June 21, 2003

    Mac OS X - August 2003

    Linux - June 30, 2003

    RPG

    Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark

    Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

    Microsoft Windows - December 2, 2003

    Mac OS X - August 2004

    Linux - December 17, 2003

    RPG

    Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

    Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Xbox

    Microsoft Windows - November 19, 2003

    Mac OS X - September 7, 2004

    Xbox - July 15, 2003

    Steam - September 5, 2009

    App Store - February 18, 2011

    Sci-fi, Fantasy, RPG

    Jade Empire

    Microsoft Windows XP, Mac OS X, Xbox, Xbox 360

    Microsoft Windows XP - February 26, 2007

    Mac OS X - August 18, 2008

    Xbox - April 12, 2005

    Xbox Originals - July 21, 2008

    Action, RPG

    Mass Effect

    Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360

    Microsoft Windows - May 28, 2008

    Xbox 360 - November 16, 2007

    RPG

    Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

    Nintendo DS

    September 30, 2008

    RPG

    Mass Effect Galaxy

    IOS

    June 22, 2009

    Action, RPG

    Dragon Age: Origins

    Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Mac OS X

    Xbox 360 & Microsoft Windows - November 3, 2009

    PlayStation 3 - November 3, 2009

    Mac OS X - December 21, 2009

    RPG

    Mass Effect 2

    Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3

    Xbox 360 & Microsoft Windows - January 26, 2010

    PlayStation 3 - January 18, 2011

    Action, RPG

    Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

    Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Mac OS X

    March 16, 2010

    RPG

    Dragon Age II

    Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Mac OS X

    March 8, 2011

    RPG

    Star Wars: The Old Republic

    Microsoft Windows

    December 20, 2011

    MMORPG

    Mass Effect 3

    Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

    March 6, 2012

    Action, RPG

    Dragon Age: Inquisition

    Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox One

    November 18, 2014

    Action, RPG

    Mass Effect: Andromeda

    Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

    March 21, 2017

    Action, RPG

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