// PC GAMER — GAMING
Game industry legend Warren Spector blows up over BioWare's closure: 'it's utter bulls**t'
The recently retired producer of System Shock, Ultima Underworld, Deus Ex, and so many more wants to know why "the folks in suits" aren't losing their jobs.
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Maybe all of the people who participated—the folks in suits (real or virtual) should lose their damn jobs. I ask them to ponder this: What do you contribute to gaming? What price do you pay for failure?
Immersive sim legend Warren Spector shared some thoughts on yesterday's closure of BioWare, and they're uncharacteristically spicy—so much so that he led into them with a warning for sensitive readers.
"I try very hard not to curse at any time but especially in public. Unfortunately for my vocabulary and the delicate sensibilities of some who read this I can’t control myself. Hell, I don’t want to control myself," Spector wrote in a brief message on LinkedIn.
"BioWare is more than just another studio. For decades it’s played a central role in the history of our medium. They, for many years, as effectively as any studio, married art and commerce. Their work changed things."
And then, the cursing, and the warning that sensitive readers should cover their eyes while Warren gives 'em both barrels: "This is such bad news, such a devastating historic event all I can say is that it’s utter bullshit. Anyone who participated in this travesty should be ashamed."
It is perhaps not the eruption of ear-scalding profanity you were expecting (or hoping for), but the truth is that Spector has been a studiously even-tempered professional throughout his career. I don't know if I've ever heard him publicly say anything harsher than "heck" or maybe "gosh darn" for as long as I've been following him—PCG pal Joshua Wolens described Spector as "so pure, like if hot chocolate was a guy," and I think that pretty much nails it.
Easy as it is to joke, though (and I suspect Spector is playing to character somewhat here), his message does very aptly reflect the weight of the moment. The closure of BioWare is a pronounced symptom of an industry (and a world, really) that's gone wrong in some very fundamental ways. What kind of multi-billion-dollar game company, supposedly one of the best, looks at a studio like BioWare and says, "Nah, I can't do anything with that?"
The fact that EA managed to make mild-mannered Warren Spector—who's supposed to be enjoying his retirement—straight-up call bullshit on the whole thing speaks volumes about how bad a botch this really is.