Following BioWare's shock closure, a new documentary capturing its final moments is coming next year
A documentary detailing the history of beloved Mass Effect studio BioWare is releasing next year, and will cover last month's shock closure of the studio, following the private acquisition of owner EA.
Following BioWare's shock closure, a new documentary capturing its final moments is coming next year
You Ottawa watch it.
A documentary detailing the history of beloved Mass Effect studio BioWare is releasing next year, and will cover last month's shock closure of the studio, following the private acquisition of owner EA.
Mass Effect: The BioWare Story (per Deadline) has been written and directed by Akash Sherman and produced for Canada's Super Channel. It documents the studio from the early days after its founding in 1995 to the release of barn-burner hits like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Filming began two years prior to the announcement of BioWare's closure and continued throughout, with Deadline reporting the documentary will "capture BioWare’s final chapter."
The BioWare Story includes interviews with studio founders Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip, alongside Mass Effect director Casey Hudson, other BioWare developers, and Shepard voice actor Jennifer Hale. That's alongside former EA CEO John Riccitiello, LucasFilm Games vice president Douglas Reilly, and creator of The Game Awards Geoff Keighley.
"The BioWare founders are my hometown heroes,” writer and director Sherman said in a statement accompanying the documentary news. "It's a privilege and responsibility to share the journey of underdogs who came together to create deeply beloved storytelling. Their golden era kindled a spark in me and in an entire generation. With the studio's recent closure, the film is now a profound valediction."
For fans outside Canada, Mass Effect: The BioWare Story is planned for a major film festival run and a world premiere next year. No exact release date has been established as of writing.
Members of the games industry have lambasted EA's decision to close Bioware in the weeks since the news was shared, with legendary designer Warren Spector writing, "Anyone who participated in this travesty should be ashamed". Meanwhile, a petition has reached enough signatures for the Canadian government to potentially rescue the studio from closure. Whether or not it actually does… Well, weirder things have happened?
PC, PS3, Xbox 360