BioWare today announced that two major pillars of its development teams are leaving the company, with studio veterans Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah exiting. Their latest positions had Hudson serving as the BioWare general manager while Darrah was the Dragon Age executive producer, both touts over two decades of experience at the company. No changes are being made to the projects in development at the studio.
"It’s not an easy decision to make, and big changes like this always come with a certain degree of sadness," said Casey Hudson in a farewell blog post. "I will miss being able to work every day with our inspiring developers on the biggest and most exciting projects I can imagine. But I also know that this is a good time for a change, for both myself and BioWare."
A separate blog post from Mark Darrah added the following:
This has been a very difficult decision for me. The team of amazing developers on Dragon Age, make my life fuller and better. They have taught me so much. But the strength of the team is also what makes this possible. I know that Dragon Age won’t just survive without me, it will thrive.
The BioWare Austin studio director Christian Dailey will be taking over the duties of Darrah at being the Dragon Age executive producer. Meanwhile. the senior director of development operations Gary McKay will serve as the BioWare interim general manager while a new soul is being searched for the position.
BioWare is currently developing the next Dragon Age game, a new Mass Effect entry, remasters of the original Mass Effect trilogy, as well as an Anthem reboot. The studio saw two high-level departures last year also, with Anthem Lead Producer Ben Irving and the Dragon Age Lead Producer Fernando Melo exiting BioWare.