In 2021, former BioWare CEO Casey Hudson announced a new studio called Humanoid Origin. It was about working on a sci-fi blockbuster and hiring people for an ambitious future. However, on Monday, the studio announced that it would be closing just a few years later due to its failure to raise the funds needed for the sequel.
“Despite efforts to protect the studio from major industry challenges, we were unable to maintain operations due to an unexpected lack of funding,” the company said announced on LinkedIn. “It breaks our hearts that we cannot complete our new science fiction universe. However, our greatest concern at this time is with our team and we are committed to supporting them as they transition into new employment.”
Humanoid Origin is the latest new studio with experienced talent working on a large-scale game that has been mired in one of the video game industry's most difficult periods in over a decade due to a drought of investor funding and publishing deals. According to LinkedIn, there were around 70 employees. Before founding the team, Hudson was a long-time developer and producer at BioWare, where he worked on everything Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic To Mass Effect 3.
He left the RPG powerhouse in 2015, only to return as general manager a few years later after BioWare's rocky start Mass Effect Andromeda. The bad times continued with the disastrous live service launch of anthem a few years later. Hudson then left BioWare in 2020 alongside veteran producer Mark Darrah, with the chaotic development of what would become of it Dragon Age: The Veil Guardian well on the way.
“In our time together, the team has made incredible progress and shown that it is possible to do great work while fostering a culture of fun and creativity,” reads Humanoid Origin’s farewell statement today. “We thank them for their talent, courage and friendship.”
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