#reference: ex BioWare employees

[reverberation-layla]

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, co-founders of BioWare. Left simultaneously on September 18, 2012, officially ending the Classic BioWare era.

Casey Hudson, producer and director of KotOR and the original Mass Effect trilogy. Left in August 2014, but returned in July 2017 to lead the Anthem development and BioWare as a whole, then left again in December 2020.

David Gaider, designer on BG2, NWN, and KotOR, lead writer of the first three Dragon Age installments. Left in January 2016 to join Beamdog, before co-founding Summerfall Studios in 2019.

Aaryn Flynn, programmer on BG2, NWN, KotOR, JE, and DAO, studio head during the production of Dragon Age II, Inquisition, and Mass Effect 3. Left in July 2017 to join Improbable in September 2018.

Mike Laidlaw, lead writer on JE, creative director of the first three Dragon Age games. Left in October 2017 to join Ubisoft Quebec (for the record, this was around the time that Project Joplin, the original iteration of Dragon Age IV, was canceled), but left in January 2020 after his new project was canceled to co-found Yellow Brick Games.

Steven Gilmour, lead animator on BG1–2, NWN, KotOR, ME1, and DA1–3. Left in October 2017.

Drew Karpyshyn, designer on BG2 and NWN, lead writer on KotOR, JE, ME1–2, and SWTOR. Left in February 2012, returned in September 2015 to work on Anthem, left again in March 2018.

James Ohlen, writer/designer on BG1–2, lead designer on NWN, KotOR, JE, and DAO, and game director of SWTOR. Left in July 2018 to design D&D adventures with Karpyshyn and one more BW alumnus, Jesse Sky, and later joined Wizards of the Coast.

Jacques Lebrun, engine programmer and tech director on the Dragon Age series, left in September 2018 to join Improbable.

Fernando Melo, technical manager on JE and (online) producer on DA1–4, left in August 2019.

Mark Darrah, programmer on BG2, NWN, and JE, and executive producer of the Dragon Age series. Left in December 2020.

Matt Goldman, artist on BG1–2 and NWN, art director on JE and DA1–3, creative director of Dragon Age after Laidlaw's departure. Left in November 2021.

Mac Walters, designer on KotOR, writer on JE and ME1, lead writer on ME2 and ME3. Left in January 2023.

[felassan]

Article: 'Ex-Dragon Age testers picket BioWare office as others fight for severance'

‘The hope with our actions is [to] convince Keywords to reinstate those they terminated with new work’

"Ex-Keywords Studios QA testers, who worked on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, will picket in front of BioWare’s Edmonton office on Tuesday. BioWare attempted to block the picket with an appeal to the Alberta Labour Relations Board, according to industry publication Game Developer, but the board ruled in the union’s favor. “The hope with our actions is [to] convince Keywords to reinstate those they terminated with new work,” former Keywords tester James Russwurm told Polygon. The rally will begin at 2 p.m. EST on Nov. 7 outside the BioWare office in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. The QA testers were laid off from Keywords Studios in September after BioWare declined to renew its contract with the company. Though the QA workers were employed by Keywords Studios, they were contracted out to BioWare to work on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Without the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf contract, Keywords said there was no work elsewhere for the testers. The workers, who were unionized with the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, Local No. 401, were in negotiations with Keywords Studios when they were laid off. BioWare attempted to block the picket, claiming that it was not an appropriate location for the rally — the company claimed that the Edmonton office was not the QA workers’ workplace because they worked from home. The Alberta Labour Relations Board ruled in favor of the union, however, as the Keywords testers worked alongside BioWare staff, even if it was just remotely. The picket can’t interrupt access to the building, which houses several offices besides BioWare’s. Neither Electronic Arts (BioWare’s owner) nor BioWare has responded to Polygon’s request for comment. Nov. 7 is known as N7 Day in the Mass Effect and BioWare community, a reference to a military designation in the popular Mass Effect franchise. Another group of laid-off workers, previously employed by BioWare, have started up a hashtag — #N7SeveranceDay — for fans to use for support. Roughly 50 BioWare employees were laid off in August; seven of those 50 employees are suing the company for better severance pay. R. Alex Kennedy, a lawyer representing the group of employees, told Polygon that BioWare has refused to negotiate; the case will move to the Canadian courts. A full trial, with witness testimony, could take years, he said. These layoffs are separate from the layoffs at Keywords Studios, but Russwurm said the two groups stand in solidarity with each other. “We are 100% there in solidarity with those workers who were let go from BioWare,” he said. “I believe they have an N7 day announcement that coincides with our strike day and we’ll likely see some of them at the picket line showing support for us. We all worked alongside one another for years on Dreadwolf and ultimately suffered the same fate. We hope that our picket and actions can show that there is a way to fight back against unjust practices these studios take.”

[source]