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Mike Laidlaw, who has served as lead designer and creative director for the Dragon Age series, has left Bioware. Announced via Twitter last night, the developer leaves the company after 14 years.
Laidlaw has worked on the Dragon Age series of role-playing games since its inception but has also worked across a number of Bioware titles, including Jade Empire and Mass Effect. Laidlaw joined the company in 2003 as a lead story developer for Jade Empire before becoming a lead designer in 2008.
— Mike Laidlaw (@Mike_Laidlaw) October 12, 2017
The last Dragon Age game as Dragon Age Inquisition in late 2014 and constant hints and rumours from Laidlaw suggested that another game was in the works. If that is the case then that work will have to continue without him at the helm.
So what’s next for Laidlaw? Well, streaming, it appears. The writer is going to take a break to catch up on gaming and, by the sounds of it, increase his presence on streaming site Twitch to share with his fans. Hopefully, we’ll see Laidlaw’s vast creativity in new game projects soon.
This is another high profile departure from Bioware following general manager Aaron Flynn, who left in July after 17 years at the company. Publisher EA, which owns Bioware, merged the Montreal Bioware studio and Motive Studios together in August following the poor performance of Mass Effect Andromeda.
