Award-winning sci-fi author NK Jemisin joins BioWare's mourners and scorns a broken industry for killing geese that 'laid the golden eggs'

The passing of BioWare has sparked an outpouring of tributes and nostalgic remembrances from many quarters as people come together to cherish the studio's legendary achievements in the realm of role-playing video games. Prominent figures like CD Projekt Red's founding father Warren Spector, and the team at PC Gamer have all been sharing their fond memories of BioWare, while occasionally lamenting the influence of EA, the company that acquired the studio back in 2007.

Award-winning sci-fi and fantasy writer Nora Jemisin, known professionally as NK Jemisin, has joined the chorus of mourners for BioWare. In a heartfelt tribute on Bluesky, Jemisin lamented the studio's influence on her life, stating that the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games were a "literal inspiration" for her, and that she has replayed her favorite titles countless times.

She also praised fellow game writers Jennifer Hepler and Jennifer Hale, the latter of whom was a long-time Dragon Age writer and voice actress responsible for many iconic characters, including Jennifer Hale herself, who voiced characters such as Dynaheir, Mazzy Fentan, Bastila Shan, and the Female Commander Shepard.

Jemisin's tribute is laced with frustration over the current state of the game industry. She lamented, "Watching what's happening to the game industry right now is so frustrating. It was the goose that laid the golden eggs, guys. All you had to do was not kill it." She went on to express her concern that the increasing demand for bigger, more expensive games every year, accompanied by the pressure for bigger and more dramatic returns, has led to a vicious cycle of layoffs affecting developers.

Typically, it is the developers who suffer when these ambitious projects fail to meet their financial targets, while executives often remain unscathed.