A new Wizards of the Coast studio is working on a sci-fi RPG, headed by BioWare veterans

A new Wizards of the Coast studio is working on a sci-fi RPG, headed by BioWare veterans

By Heidi Nicholas, 31 Jan 2020
Comments
Archetype Entertainment has just been announced as an autonomous division of Wizards of the Coast. The new studio is situated in Texas, headed by two BioWare veterans, and is working on a multi-platform RPG set in a new sci-fi universe.

James Ohlen, formerly creative director and lead designer at BioWare, is now in the role of studio head at Archetype. At BioWare, he worked on Star Wars: The Old Republic, Baldur's Gate 1+2, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, and Dragon Age. He'll be working with Chad Robertson, who was formerly head of live services on Anthem, now in the role of General Manager at Archetype Entertainment. Speaking of its goals, the Archetype studio says "we believe there will always be a place for story-driven roleplaying games that put the player at the center of an epic personal narrative with impactful choices. We are building games that represent the diversity of our audience. We also believe that game studios should empower top developers and challenge them with ambitious projects that are shaped by a strong, clearly communicated creative vision."

Now that they've broken cover and announced what they're working on, they're also hiring in droves: for an Art Director, Lead Character Artist, Lead Environment Artist, Lead VFX Artist, Lead Gameplay Engineer, Senior Gameplay Designer, Senior Level Designer, Gameplay Engineer, and a Technical Animator. Whatever they're working on, it sounds as though it's still in the very early stages, and they don't seem ready to give us any more details as yet, although Robertson sounds very enthusiastic about what the studio will have to offer:

Wizards of the Coast has a lot up its sleeve lately; they're also working on a rebooted Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance with Livelock developers Tuque Games, though we haven't heard anything about it since its announcement trailer back in December. Wizards of the Coast and Archetype Entertainment are keeping details pretty close to the chest on both of these projects, but we'll let you know as soon as there's more news on the Baldur's Gate reboot, and on Archetype's upcoming sci-fi RPG.

(Thanks, Eurogamer)
Industry News

Written by Heidi Nicholas
Hey, I'm Heidi! I've just finished studying a Masters in English Literature, but I've been obsessed with gaming since long before then. I began on the PS2 with Spyro, before graduating to the Xbox 360 and disappearing into Skyrim. I'm now a loyal RPG fan, but I still like to explore other genres — when I'm not playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey, or being lured back into Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Witcher 3!