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BioWare co-founder says EA's Saudi Arabia buyout was "the final nail in the coffin" for the studio

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BioWare co-founder says EA's Saudi Arabia buyout was "the final nail in the coffin" for the studio

The closure of RPG royalty BioWare came as a shock to just about everyone when it was announced last week, but one of the founders of the studio says the writing was on the wall from the moment parent company Electronic Arts was bought out by the Saudi-led Public Investment Fund (PFP).

"I think it was the final nail in the coffin," he tells 80LV. "I think that was the crux of it in a sense. Once again it's a completely different company now."

The Saudi government is known for brutal human rights violations and has a particularly grim track record on LGBTQ+ rights. Mass Effect 5 developers were reportedly told to tone down inclusivity after the Saudi buyout, and in August, multiple members of EA staff anonymously told Game Developer they feared the Saudi government would start policing their games to better align with policy. Mass Effect, and BioWare more broadly, is known for LGBTQ+ representation, so you can see why concerns bubbled immediately following the PFP's acquisition of EA.

Zeschuk left BioWare and retired from the gaming industry in 2012 alongside fellow co-founder Ray Muzyka, which means he hasn't had inside knowledge for a long time now, but he expects EA to prioritize sports games and "maybe Battlefield."

"Everything else is kind of extraneous I suspect," he says.



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