Announced today via a press release on the company's site, BioWare General Manager Casey Hudson and Executive Producer of Dragon Age  Mark Darrah are leaving the studio. The developers were notable figures at BioWare and associated heavily with its biggest IPs, with Chief Studios Officer Laura Miele claiming in a statement that both will be remembered as "an essential part of the studio’s history."

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According to Miele, the search is now on to fill Casey Hudson's vacant slot as general manager, with the chief studios officer claiming the goal is to find someone who "embodies the values of this team and who will help carry on the incredible legacy of BioWare." Both men have had lengthy stints working alongside BioWare, spearheading some of the company's biggest games.

Dragon-Age-inquisition-inquisitor
Dragon-Age-inquisition-inquisitor

 

Casey Hudson is likely best known for serving as creative director on the Mass Effect  trilogy and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, leading the charge on developing both sci-fi RPGs. He originally departed the studio back in 2014, announcing in 2015 that he would work alongside Microsoft on the Hololens. He later returned to the company in 2017 when BioWare's former GM Aaryn Flynn vacated his position. Hudson's work on Mass Effect  and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic  has forever cemented the developer as a significant name in the RPG genre.

Meanwhile, Mark Darrah has been a significant part of the Dragon Age  franchise since it first debuted back in 2009. Acting as an executive producer for Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age: Inquisition,  and Anthem,  he's been one of the biggest names involved with the company for years and a huge asset for the studio's seminal fantasy RPG franchise. Much like Hudson, he was an essential part of BioWare's history and will surely move onto some exciting projects in the future.

Hudson and Darrah will be leaving behind some huge projects still to come in BioWare's future, with the eagerly awaited Mass Effect: Legendary Edition  set to launch next year and the fourth Dragon Age  game primed to reignite the popular fantasy series in the near future. There also appears to be a fifth entry in the Mass Effect  franchise in the works, although it is currently in the very early stages of development.

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Source: BioWare