There's a parallel universe where BioWare's co-founders staged a coup on the back of a Star Wars MMO launch and took over EA, changing it from the inside.
At least, that was a dream harboured by Greg Zeschuk, before he left the company with fellow founder Ray Muzyka in 2012. Chatting with Simon Parkin on his My Perfect Console podcast (cheers, Time Extension), Zeschuk discussed his final days at the company he founded, which had been acquired by EA four years prior.
The last game to be released under Zeschuk and Muzyka's reign was Star Wars: The Old Republic—and Zeschuk had high hopes for it. «I lived in Austin for two-and-a-half years making Star Wars the Old Republic [and] I knew that was kind of a one-way trip,» he said. «If it was super successful, super duper successful, Ray and I would have probably launched a bid to try and take over EA from the inside, being the corporate pirates that we are.
But it needed to be like $2 billion a year successful. But it didn’t work out so I was like, 'Ah, I'm fine.'» The Old Republic was a huge endeavour: a massive MMO, with completely distinct stories for every class, full voice acting, and dialogue featuring BioWare-style ethical dilemmas.
It was also one of the most expensive videogames ever developed. The Old Republic was far from a dud, and perseveres today, though it's now developed by Broadsword, not BioWare Austin.