Mass Effect lead writer shares details of his departure from BioWare

by Danny Craig  · 
Mass Effect lead writer shares details of his departure from BioWare
Electronic Arts

Mac Walters, the former lead writer of BioWare's beloved sci-fi franchise Mass Effect, has revealed why he left the company after nearly two decades to found a new studio.

The details:

  • In an interview with MinnMax, Walters discussed the many reasons he left BioWare, including the desire to work on a new project and the want to develop games in a small team, as his experience working on Mass Effect Legendary Edition positively reminded him of the early days of his 19-year tenure at the studio.

  • The writer stated that no specific event prompted his decision to leave and that he felt it was the right time to step away since his working experience on his final project was positive. "It was really just time for me," Walters explained. "After 19 years it just felt like this was the moment. There wasn't a significant triggering event or anything I needed to discuss, so [I said] 'let's just part ways amicably. And you'll continue to do your thing and I'll go do my thing and figure out that.'"

  • According to Walters, EA's decision to remaster the original Mass Effect trilogy was "unplanned," resulting in the formation of a small "scrappy" team to work on the project. The writer claims that having to build the team without interfering with BioWare's other projects, such as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, forced him to be a "little bit rogue and a little bit entrepreneurial," which reminded him of the "good old days."

  • Walters has now established Worlds Untold under NetEase, a remote studio focused on "AAA action-adventure games with an emphasis on narrative and worldbuilding." So far, it has been confirmed that it is developing a "near future, action-adventure game" with former Metal Gear Solid, Halo, The Sims, and Dragon Age developers.

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