Today current and soon to be former General Manager of Bioware, Aaron Flynn, announced that he would be leaving the company and that Casey Hudson, former project director of the original Mass Effect trilogy and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, would be returning to Edmonton to take his place. Hudson left the company in 2014 and eventually began working at Microsoft as a creative director for HoloLens. Here’s what Flynn had to say about the move via Bioware’s official blog:
“After 17 years with BioWare, today I announced that I’ll be leaving the studio at the end of July, and that Casey Hudson is returning to Edmonton to take on the role of General Manager for BioWare.”
He continues:
“I have been contemplating changes in my own life for some time, but when I heard that Casey had confirmed he was up for the task, I realized the opportunities before us. I will be working with him over the next couple of weeks to help catch him up and do my part to set him up for success to be the best GM he can be.
In closing, let me thank our players for everything they’ve given us over these many years, and to say from the bottom of my heart how important you are to me and the rest of BioWare. I have gone to work every day knowing that I am fortunate to have all of the opportunities I have had at BioWare because of you. Doing whatever I could to help our developers create some of the best games in the industry for you all has been the most humbling experience of my life. Now, I’ll be playing BioWare’s games in the future from an exciting new perspective – yours 😊” You can read his full statement right here.
Hudson followed up shortly after with a statement of his own:
“Almost twenty years ago, I decided to apply for a job as a technical artist at a local video game company in Edmonton. Young, and fresh out of University, I’m not sure what I expected it to lead to. But it was the beginning of a career full of experiences and shared accomplishments I never could have dreamed of. So when I left BioWare three years ago, it was the most difficult decision of my career. I needed some time off, needed a bit of change, and wanted to get involved in the new wave of disruptive technologies that were emerging.
The last few years have been transformative for me, from having time to reflect on what I most want to do, to working with new technologies at platform scale. And now, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to return to lead BioWare – a studio that I think of as home.” You can read his full statement right here.
Most recently Bioware released Mass Effect: Andromeda to mixed reviews from both fans and critics, and recently revealed its next project, Anthem at E3 2017. Let us know your thoughts on change in leadership below.