Casey Hudson, best known for being the director of theMass Effecttrilogy, leftBioWarein 2021 to form a new studio, Humanoid Origin, and begin work on a new IP. Unfortunately, Hudson announced today that the studio will be shutting down due to a lack of funding.
“Earlier today, we informed our staff that Humanoid Origin will be shutting down,” read a post on the company’sLinkedIn page. “Despite efforts to shield the studio from broader challenges in the industry, an unexpected shortfall of funding left us unable to sustain operations.”
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Union claims that the decision was made without transparency.
“We’re heartbroken that we will not be able to bring our new science-fiction universe to completion. Our main concern at this time however is for our team, and we are committed to supporting them in their transition to new employment. In our time together, the team achieved incredible progress, and demonstrated that it’s possible to do amazing work while fostering a culture of fun and creativity. We thank them for their talent, courage, and friendship.”
A Troubling Time For Former BioWare Developers
Hudson’s Humanoid Origin isn’t the only studio featuring ex-BioWare devs to encounter struggles. Recently, Inflexion Games, creator ofNightingale,went through a round of layoffs. Aaryn Flynn, Inflexion Games CEO, is the former general manager ofBioWare. Flynn said that while difficult, the layoffs were necessary to keep the studio afloat.
Humanoid Origin had roughly 72 employees according to their LinkedIn posting. They described themselves as a studio “built on the axiom that creative freedom and independence lead to better, more innovative games.” While concrete details on their unannounced title aren’t available, their website says it was a multi-platform AAA game taking place in a new sci-fi universe, focusing on character-driven narrative. They were recruiting new talent as recently as May of this year.
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It was good old-fashioned fun with friends.
2021 wasn’t the first time Hudson leftBioWare. On August 7th, 2014, he left the studio before joining Microsoft Studios as a creative director in 2015. He returned to BioWare in 2017, replacing Flynn as studio general manager, before leaving again four years later.
Meanwhile, BioWare recently releasedDragon Age: The Veilguardand is working on the next entry in theMass Effectfranchise.A TV show taking place in theMass Effectuniverse is also in development.
