Ex-BioWare boss Casey Hudson's new studio promises to 'combine excellence in the arts with advanced sciences'
Former BioWare general manager Casey Hudson, who resigned from the studio in December 2020, has unveiled his next project: Humanoid Studios, a new outfit that promises to "combine excellence in the arts with advanced sciences to deliver the future of interactive entertainment."
"Today we are announcing a new independent videogame company built to unleash the creative freedom of developers—bringing innovation and artistry to players through an all-new IP," Hudson tweeted. "We are Humanoid Studios. This is the first tiny step in our journey, and we hope you'll come along with us on the adventure."
We are Humanoid Studios. This is the first tiny step in our journey, and we hope you'll come along with us on the adventure. https://t.co/b77Z2hbKFGJune 29, 2021
The investor-focused talk about innovation and IPs is about as inspiring as finding an old sock under the sink, but there is legitimate excitement for Hudson's return to the business after his surprise departure from BioWare.
nice! congrats, my friend! ????❤️June 29, 2021
Congrats on the news!June 29, 2021
Messages of support also came from BioWare co-founder and Beamdog boss Trent Oster, BioWare writer Patrick Weekes, and former BioWare community manager Chris Priestly.
Hudson said nothing specific about what Humanoid Studios is working on, and the website at humanoidstudios.com is also devoid of detail. The job listings, for posts including senior gameplay programmer, senior creative director, and senior level designer, don't shed much light either: Applicants are required to have experience developing triple-A games, ideally with the Unreal Engine, but the game itself is described in only the vaguest possible terms as "an immersive new universe of story, character, and discovery."
It's a little disappointing that we don't have more detail, but it's also understandable at this stage in the process: The job descriptions are focused on supporting pre-production and prototyping and "exploration of game design concepts as part of developing our new IP," which makes it clear that things are still in an extremely early state. "Story, character, and discovery" does at least imply an RPG or something RPG-adjacent, though, and that would fit with Hudson's past work: During his time at BioWare he served as the project director on the Mass Effect trilogy, and prior to that was a designer and producer on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and programmer on Baldur's Gate 2.