BioWare
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Template:Infobox Company$17.482 million CAD (2004)|
homepage = www.bioware.com
}} BioWare Corp. is a Canadian electronic entertainment company founded in February 1995 by medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. It is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. BioWare specializes in creating computer and console video games and has become famous for successful computer role-playing games such as Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Muzyka and Zeschuk are currently joint CEOs of BioWare; Yip left in early 1997 to return to medicine.
In November 2005, it was announced that BioWare and Pandemic Studios would be joining forces, with Elevation Partners overseeing the partnership. However, both companies will retain their identities.
On March 13, 2006, Bioware announced that they opened a new studio in Austin, Texas which is already working on developing an MMORPG.
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Games
- Shattered Steel (1996)
- Baldur's Gate (1998)
- Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (1999)
- MDK2 (2000)
- Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000)
- MDK2: Armageddon (2001)
- Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (2001)
- Neverwinter Nights (2002)
- Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide (2003)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ("KotOR") (2003)
- Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark (2003)
- Jade Empire (2005)
- Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker (2005)
- Dragon Age (In Development)
- Mass Effect (In Development)
- Jade Empire 2 {In Development)
Third party games using BioWare engines
- Planescape Torment (1999)
- Icewind Dale (2000)
- Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (2001)
- Icewind Dale II (2002)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004)
- The Witcher (In Development)
- Neverwinter Nights 2 (In Development)
Engines
Bioware created the Infinity Engine, which was used as a core component for development of 2D computer Role-playing games based on Dungeons & Dragons, such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. For their game Neverwinter Nights, launched in 2002, Bioware developed the Aurora engine, the basis for a number of successful computer and console 3D RPGs thereafter.
Neverwinter Nights shipped with a number of tools allowing users to create their own role-playing adventures for single and multiplayer online. The tools, using the Aurora Engine, have been adapted to many forms of gameplay and storytelling, with thousands of amateur and professional modules available on various web sites; some released for sale as premium content. Neverwinter Nights was a pioneering example of user-created game content commercially supported and distributed over the internet.
The Odyssey engine was developed for the Xbox game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which was based on the Aurora engine. BioWare is currently developing the Dragon Age engine for the game Dragon Age.
After years of working with licensed content, particularly from the D&D world, BioWare began efforts to develop intellectual property that they would own. Jade Empire was a step in this direction, as is their current project: the PC RPG Dragon Age and Mass Effect for Xbox 360, using the third version of the Unreal engine.
BioWare is maintaining a limited oversight on the development of Neverwinter Nights 2 by Obsidian Entertainment. They previously oversaw Obsidian on their development of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords in the same limited capacity.