Back in June of last year, gaming fans shared a collective sigh of relief when Drew Karpyshyn, the senior scribe for the highly revered Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, revealed his decision come out of retirement to return to BioWare to work as a writer on the developer's forthcoming title, Anthem. Now, though, it looks as if he's set to depart from the company yet again in order to pursue outside projects.
According to an official post on his personal blog, Drew Karpyshyn is leaving BioWare and abandoning his work on Anthem to focus on "more original novels, an original sci-fi graphic novel [he's] co-creating, and freelance gaming work." However, Karpyshyn makes sure to mention that he's "not leaving games entirely," as he apparently has his hands in an unannounced project with FogBank Entertainment, which is led by former BioWare employee Daniel Erickson.
As mentioned by Karpyshyn, his decision to leave BioWare and Anthem seemingly doesn't just extend to the desire to focus on his own works, for the writer also notes that being employed by the company can be "creatively demanding and – at times – exhausting." While such stress could simply be due to the intense level of productivity required to work at the forefront of a Triple-A gaming firm, the KOTOR writer's departure follows a trend of many others leaving BioWare, indicating potential woes within the studio.
For those unaware, Karpyshyn's choice to exit BioWare and leave Anthem behind follows the exodus of several other noteworthy industry names leaving the studio. To be specific, Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw, studio general manager Aaryn Flynn, Mass Effect: Andromeda lead writer Chris Schlerf, Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider, and Mass Effect: Andromeda senior development director Chris Wynn have all parted ways with the company not too long ago.
From an outsider's perspective, there's no way to know all of the intricacies involved in Karpyshyn's choice to depart from BioWare yet again, as the easy explanation is to just assume that the company is in trouble. As Karpyshyn says, "there is no dirty laundry I’m just waiting to air," so it's possible that his decision to leave is as simple as his originally stated purpose – that is, to pursue his own personal projects. Of course, considering the poor launch and mediocre reviews of its last game, Mass Effect: Andromeda, as well as the recent withdrawal of other studio leads, it's difficult to not see Karpyshyn's exit from the developer as a worrying sign for the future of both Anthem and BioWare.
Anthem is is currently scheduled to release in 2019.
Source: Drew Karpyshyn