‘Dragon Age’ writer Mary Kirby is one of 50 BioWare developers that have been laid off
BioWare announced that approximately 50 employees – including Dragon Age writer Mary Kirby – have been let go in order to “preserve the health of the studio”.
Gary McKay, general manager of BioWare, broke the news in a post to the developer’s official blog and described it as a “deeply painful” decision. “We are doing everything we can to ensure the process is handled with empathy, respect, and clear communication,” he continued.
McKay stated that the development of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and the next Mass Effect game would not be adversely affected by the losses. Additionally, there are “internal opportunities” for those who have been eliminated in this restructuring but the general manager said that it is “unlikely” that all 50 ex-employees will be able to slot into a new role at the developer.
However, per posts to X, Dragon Age fans are very shocked that senior writer Mary Kirby has been let go alongside the claim that this would not affect the long-awaited new game at all.
In 2006, Kirby joined BioWare and, over the course of almost two decades, worked on its most beloved titles like Dragon Age: Origins, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dragon Age 2, its expansions Legacy and Mark Of The Assassin, and most recently Dragon Age: Inquisition and its expansions Jaws Of Hakkon and Trespasser.
She is also the writer of fan-favourite dwarf rogue Varric, who has been used as the narrator for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf‘s promotional trailers.
“If anyone’s looking for a writer/narrative designer with kind of an absurd amount of experience, I’m available,” she said of the news.
“BioWare laid off Varric’s creator, Mistress of the Qunari, Writer of the Chant, who was there since Dragon Age‘s inception. How incredibly sad,” contributed David Gaider, formerly the lead writer of the fantasy series. “I’ll echo others saying that any studio in need of narrative expertise should snap her up immediately. Mary is amazing, full stop.”
In other gaming news, Cyberpunk 2077‘s update 2.0 promised significant changes to systems like enemy artificial intelligence, police car chases and more, all added for free.
The post ‘Dragon Age’ writer Mary Kirby is one of 50 BioWare developers that have been laid off appeared first on NME.
Imogen Donovan
NME
