BioWare's Legacy Continues Through a Wide Range of New Games and Stories

BioWare's closure under EA has ended a 31-year run for one of the most influential names in role-playing games, but it has not ended the work of the people who helped build that legacy. In the weeks following the shutdown, fans have reflected on the studio's history around N7 Day, revisiting the characters, worlds, and player-driven choices that defined series including Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

That history now extends across a surprisingly broad collection of projects. BioWare alumni are spread throughout the industry, from large teams making ambitious science-fiction RPGs to independent developers creating visual novels, horror games, multiplayer experiences, and even an audio drama. Some of those projects have been publicly announced and shown, while others remain intentionally mysterious. Together, they demonstrate that the creative talent associated with BioWare's past is still actively shaping new worlds.

Returning to space opera

Perhaps the most immediately familiar project for fans of cinematic space-faring RPGs is Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. Casey Hudson, who directed the original Mass Effect trilogy, is working on the newly announced action RPG. The game was revealed during last year's Game Awards and is in development at Arcanaut Studios, a team that includes multiple BioWare veterans.

The title alone places the project in a particularly evocative corner of the Star Wars universe. BioWare's 2003 game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remains one of the studio's most celebrated releases, remembered for its party-based storytelling, moral decisions, and distinctive place in the franchise's ancient history. There is still much to learn about Fate of the Old Republic, but Hudson's involvement and the presence of former BioWare staff make it a project worth watching for players who want to see experienced RPG creators return to galactic fiction.

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Another major science-fiction game on the horizon is Exodus, the shooter RPG being made by Archetype Entertainment. The studio was founded by BioWare alumni James Ohlen, Chad Robertson, and Drew Karpyshyn. Karpyshyn's previous work includes influential writing roles on BioWare games, while Ohlen was a longtime designer and creative leader at the company.

Exodus is currently scheduled to launch on April 7. Its science-fiction setting and RPG focus position it as one of the most prominent upcoming games attached to former BioWare leadership. The project is especially notable because Archetype was built as a new studio rather than simply becoming a destination for individual hires, giving its founders the opportunity to establish a fresh identity while still drawing on decades of role-playing experience.

Writers and designers find new settings

Not every BioWare veteran is working on a sprawling space epic. Trick Weekes, a writer who contributed to the Mass Effect trilogy and the latter two Dragon Age games, is now writing for Among Us Story: On Guard. The upcoming narrative adventure is set in the universe of Innersloth's social deduction phenomenon Among Us.

That move highlights how transferable narrative design can be. A social-deduction setting is very different from Thedas or the Milky Way, but it still creates opportunities for tension, suspicion, character perspective, and consequential storytelling. An adventure game built around an established multiplayer universe could offer a very different lens on a world mostly known for its quick rounds of deception and deduction.

David Gaider, the lead writer on the first three Dragon Age games, has also contributed to a project outside his best-known fantasy series. Owlcat Studios is developing The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, an action RPG set in the universe of The Expanse, and Gaider has confirmed that he assisted with narrative work. Owlcat is already known for RPGs based on Pathfinder and Warhammer 40,000, making the pairing of the studio, the spacefaring setting, and an experienced narrative designer particularly fitting.

Meanwhile, Emily C. Taylor is working on Spirit Crossing, a cozy MMO that appeared in October's Indie World presentation. Taylor previously served as senior designer on Anthem and lead designer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The lighter, community-oriented tone of Spirit Crossing makes it stand apart from BioWare's action-heavy legacy, but its focus on a shared world can still benefit from a designer experienced in building systems for players to inhabit together.

Andrew Oatway, previously a business intelligence developer at BioWare, is principal game designer on Threads of Time. The turn-based RPG is another example of former staff moving into projects that remain close to the genre foundations BioWare helped popularize. Turn-based combat, party-building, and time-spanning adventures all offer room for the kind of careful systems design that RPG players tend to scrutinize most closely.

Indie teams, mysteries, and experimentation

Several smaller projects show just how varied the post-BioWare landscape has become. The Eventide is the debut game from Studio Reset, a team composed of BioWare veterans. It is described as a supernatural mystery in which player choices can influence discoveries made during the investigation. That emphasis on investigation and branching outcomes should appeal to players who value agency, even as the setting steps away from dragons, spaceships, and galaxy-scale conflicts.

Camera Anima, in development at EXP-resso Mutt, is a point-and-click visual novel about a woman attempting to rescue her twin from a soul-stealing automaton. The team includes Domini Gee, who worked through support studio Keywords Studios on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The project's premise suggests a more intimate, surreal kind of fantasy, using the visual-novel format to explore a personal crisis rather than a conventional combat-driven quest.

Artist and art manager Tobyn Manthorpe, who worked at BioWare from 1997 to 2007, is developing a solo project called Dogs Playing Dead. It has been described as equal parts board game, arcade game, and third-person shooter. That unusual blend points toward experimentation rather than familiarity, and it is a reminder that alumni of a major RPG studio are not limited to making traditional RPGs after they leave.

Jon Renish, who departed BioWare in 2023 after serving as a technical director, is working with Half Mermaid on Project D. Details surrounding the game are still heavily redacted in public-facing listings, though it is known to be a horror project. Half Mermaid's work has often embraced unconventional presentation and mystery, so the limited information around Project D is likely part of its intended intrigue rather than a sign that development has stalled.

Stories beyond the usual game release cycle

Former BioWare developers are also telling stories in formats outside conventional video games. North Mist Studios, an independent group made up of BioWare veterans, is releasing The Concierge, an audio drama centered on near-future Canadian spies and assassins. The series is available through podcast platforms, offering a route for fans interested in character-focused genre fiction without waiting for a game's lengthy development cycle.

Chris Hepler, whose writing credits include Star Wars: The Old Republic, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3, is working on Hunter: The Reckoning - Deathwish, a role-playing project in the World of Darkness setting. The World of Darkness line has long supported dark personal horror and player-led storytelling, making it a natural home for a writer with experience in interactive character drama.

There is also a new novel from Derek Kunsken. Kunsken had worked on the now-canceled Mass Effect: Universe and recently released The Quantum Dawn, the fourth entry in the Quantum Evolution series. It is another indication that the broader creative network around BioWare has always extended beyond the games that reached store shelves.

New studios with more to reveal

Two additional teams are operating with limited public detail. Broadcast Games was co-founded by former BioWare cinematic designer Ken Thain and is working on what it calls "friendslop" games. The phrase is deliberately unconventional, but it signals an interest in social play and projects meant to be shared among friends.

Iron Goblin is developing a cooperative RPG intended to give players room for creative expression and to let them tell stories together in a social fantasy setting. The studio's stated ambitions point toward a game built around collaboration rather than only authored narrative, potentially taking lessons from tabletop role-playing and applying them to an online space.

None of these projects can replace BioWare as a single institution. They are too different in scale, genre, and purpose for that, and many remain early in development. But that is precisely what makes the current moment compelling. The people who once worked under one famous RPG banner are now carrying pieces of that experience into studios large and small, familiar franchises and original worlds, games and non-game storytelling.

For fans mourning BioWare's closure, the most useful takeaway may be that its creative legacy is still in motion. It can be found in a new Star Wars RPG, an upcoming sci-fi shooter RPG, a cozy online community, a supernatural investigation, a horror mystery, a podcast, and a novel. The studio's name may be gone, but the developers who helped define it are still making things worth following.