BioWare is an electronic entertainment company best known for its computer roleplaying games. It is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with a second studio in Austin, Texas, USA, and a third in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
BioWare's first Star Wars game was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, released for both Microsoft Xbox and PC in 2003.
On November 3, 2005, BioWare announced a partnership with Pandemic Studios, the developers of Star Wars: Battlefront and its sequel, Star Wars: Battlefront II. Though they now have common ownership and pool their expertise to develop games, both companies retain their individual staffs and brands. In 2007, both studios were bought by electronic entertainment giant Electronic Arts, a sometime rival of LucasArts.
Years of rumors and wishful thinking by fans surrounded the possibility of a BioWare-produced Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic III or some other Star Wars project. BioWare's spokespeople typically responded to these rumors by stating their intention to focus on original titles (such as Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age: Origins) rather than licensed games. However, in 2007, a LucasArts-BioWare partnership to produce a "ground-breaking interactive entertainment product" was announced, though details were vague.[1]
In the following months, rumors persisted about the development of a new Knights of the Old Republic video game, spurred on by leaks from within BioWare[2] and LucasArts[3] and the registration of "Star Wars The Old Republic"[4] and "The Old Republic"[5] as LucasArts trademarks. During the E3 2008 expo, Electronic Arts executive John Riccitello confirmed that the game Star Wars: The Old Republic would be connected to the Knights of the Old Republic series of video games.[6] It was released in North America and Europe on December 20, 2011.
List of Star Wars games by BioWare
Edit
| Title | Platform | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | PC, Xbox, iOS | July 15, 2003 |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic | PC | December 20, 2011 in North America and on December 22, 2011 in the European Launch Territories |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel | PC | April 14, 2013 |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic: Galactic Starfighter | PC | February 4, 2014 |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic: Galactic Strongholds | PC | October 14, 2014 |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan | PC | December 9, 2014 |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire | PC | October 27, 2015 |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Eternal Throne | PC | December 2, 2016 |
List of non–Star Wars games by BioWareEdit
| Title | Platform | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Shattered Steel | MS-DOS and Mac OS PCs | 1996 |
| Baldur's Gate | Microsoft Windows and Mac OS PCs | November 30, 1998 |
| Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast | Microsoft Windows and Mac OS PCs | April 30, 1999 |
| MDK2 | Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows PCs, PlayStation 2 | March 31, 2000 |
| Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn | Microsoft Windows and Mac OS PCs | September 24, 2000 |
| Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal | Microsoft Windows and Mac OS PCs | June 21, 2001 |
| Neverwinter Nights | Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OS PCs | June 8, 2002 |
| Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Udrentide | Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OS | June 21, 2003 |
| Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark | Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OS | December 2, 2003 |
| Jade Empire | Xbox, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS | April 12, 2005 |
| Mass Effect | Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows | November 20, 2007 |
| Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood | Nintendo DS | September 25, 2008 |
| Mass Effect Galaxy | iPhone OS | June 22, 2009 |
| Dragon Age: Origins | Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Microsoft Windows | November 3, 2009 |
| Mass Effect 2 | Xbox 360, Windows PCs, Playstation 3 | January 26, 2010 |
| Dragon Age II | Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Microsoft Windows | March 8, 2011 |
| Mass Effect 3 | Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Microsoft Windows | March 6, 2012 |
| Dragon Age: Inquisition | Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Microsoft Windows | November 18, 2014 |
| Mass Effect: Andromeda | Xbox One, Playstation 4, Microsoft Windows | March 21, 2017 |
| Shadow Realms | Microsoft Windows | Cancelled |
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ Lucasarts and BioWare to develop ground-breaking interactive entertainment product
- ↑ BioWare's Upcoming MMO Based in KOTOR Universe
- ↑ Ex-Lucasarts Employee claims BioWare MMO is Kotor3
- ↑ United States Patent and Trademark Office
- ↑ United States Patent and Trademark Office
- ↑ EA chief executive John Riccitiello confirm EA & BioWare new Star Wars MMORPG
