BioWare lays off senior writing staff as part of its recent job cuts

As part of its recently publicised cutbacks, BioWare has “let go of” Lukas Kristjanson, the lead writer behind Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, and the writer of the first three Dragon Age games, Mary Kirby.

BioWare announced earlier this week that it’ll be laying off approximately 50 employees – around 20 per cent of its total workforce, according to recent employment figures – as part of a “shift towards a more agile and more focused studio”. Each writer had been with the studio for over 20 years.

Kristjanson is widely credited for not just bringing us the original Baldur’s Gate games, but also credited as the writer behind some of gaming’s most iconic characters, including Minsc and Mass Effect’s Joker.