BioWare's Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka retire from industry to pursue beer journalism, charity

BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka have stepped down from their lofty positions at the top of the critically acclaimed RPG developer to pursue ventures outside of video games.

For Zeschuk, that includes beer.

"After my departure I'm going to be spending significant time with family and friends, as well as pursuing some personal passion-driven projects related to craft beer," said Zeschuk on the company blog.

"The main project I will be working on is a web-based interview show called The Beer Diaries where I interview notable brewers and showcase their beers. If things go well, I'll work on other beer-related shows, apps and projects. If not, I'll have drunk a lot of tasty beers and may be back in games or even something else completely different."

He noted that he probably wouldn't return to the games industry. "I'm not going to be working in games for a while, and there's a strong possibility that I won't be back."

It's an amicable split, however, as Zeschuk said that "For the people I have had the privilege of working with, however, my passion burns as brightly as it did the day we started."

He also noted that it wasn't the company's acquisition by EA that drove him to leave. "Working with John Riccitiello, Frank Gibeau, Peter Moore and the rest of the EA team was a great experience and their support was essential in us being able to achieve our creative goals with Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Star Wars: The Old Republic," he said.

Instead, Zeschuk stated that he simply burned out on creation after two decades. "After nearly twenty years working at BioWare I've decided it's time to move on and pursue something new... I've reached an unexpected point in my life where I no longer have the passion that I once did for the company, for the games, and for the challenge of creation."

Muzyka similarly felt that it was time to move on.

"I've largely personally achieved what I wanted in videogames; I now desire to take on a brand new entrepreneurial challenge," he said on the BioWare blog. "I believe strongly in the power of free enterprise to enable sustainable change, so my next 'chapter' will likely focus on an entirely new industry, something exciting, different and frankly downright scary - investing in and mentoring new entrepreneurs, and more specifically, the field of social/impact investing."

"I'll also be spending time getting involved with more charities in education, health care, and animal rights, areas where my wife and I've typically focused our charitable donations in the past. I am also spending more time learning about the work being done to defend human rights and civil liberty across the world. Net, I am passionate about both entrepreneurship and social liberty, and I want to find a way to pursue both of them."

While Muzyka will no longer be working in the games industry, he remains passionate about the medium.

"I remain passionate about video games - they'll definitely remain one of my favorite hobbies," he said. "Frankly, I'm quite excited by the thought of being able to play the next generation of BioWare games purely as a fan!"

Muzyka also thanked EA, Zeschuk, his co-workers and fans. "I will definitely miss this industry and my teams, but I also look forward to and am incredibly excited by the new challenges in the next chapter of my career."