EA squashes rumors of BioWare co-founders departure

Electronic Arts has squashed rumors that BioWare's Dr. Greg Zeschuk and Dr. Ray Muzyka had left the studio they co-founded.

Earlier this week, German site GamersGlobal reported on rumors that Zeschuk and Muzyka had jumped ship after the disappointing launch of BioWare's massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic. The site noted that Zeschuk's LinkedIn profile had been updated to say he had ended his stint as general manager of BioWare Austin in May of this year. (It still lists him as presently employed in the position of BioWare co-founder.) In addition, GamersGlobal attributes a "trusted source" at BioWare Austin with information that neither Zeschuk nor Muzyka was present at a company-wide meeting last week and that Zeschuk actually hadn't been seen at the studio for weeks.

An EA representative denied the rumors to GameSpot, saying, "When Greg Zeschuk announced the reorganization of BioWare Austin in May, he outlined his plan to return to his family in Edmonton for a much deserved vacation. Greg also announced the new GM of BioWare Austin and SWTOR, Matt Bromberg. Greg is still with EA. He's now back in Canada, taking time off and thinking about new projects. No changes with Dr. Ray."

The Old Republic launched in December of 2011 and quickly gained a subscriber base of 1.7 million. However, that figure has since fallen below 1 million, and BioWare Austin sustained a number of layoffs along with its restructuring. As for the game, EA is converting it from a subscription-based business model to free-to-play, with the transition expected to happen in full this fall.