Mass Effect director Casey Hudson returns to BioWare as Aaryn Flynn steps down

BioWare's general manager Aaryn Flynn has announced he is to leave the company at the end of July. He will be replaced by Casey Hudson, director of the first three Mass Effect games who left the company in 2014.

"From my first day until now, I have learned much, met great colleagues and friends, and got the chance to help give players some truly incredible experiences", Flynn wrote in a post on the BioWare Blog.

"Every time I think I've found a favourite game-making experience, we start something new and somehow find fun and satisfaction in the new challenges."

During his 17-year tenure at BioWare, Flynn has worked on all of BioWare's major titles including Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire.

As the studio's general manager for the past seven years, he oversaw the release of multiple entries in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series.

Flynn was also the original director of BioWare's upcoming new IP Anthem, which has been in production since 2012 and was officially unveiled at E3 earlier this year.

"I have been contemplating changes in my own life for some time, but when I heard that Casey had confirmed he was up for the task, I realised the opportunities before us", Flynn said. "I will be working with him over the next couple of weeks to help catch him up and do my part to set him up for success to be the best GM he can be."

Hudson left BioWare in August 2014 to become creative director at Microsoft Studios and work on projects for the company's augmented-reality HoloLens headset.

"When I left BioWare three years ago, it was the most difficult decision of my career", Hudson wrote in a separate blog post titled 'Coming Home.' "I needed some time off, needed a bit of change, and wanted to get involved in the new wave of disruptive technologies that were emerging.

"The last few years have been transformative for me, from having time to reflect on what I most want to do, to working with new technologies at platform scale. And now, I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to return to lead BioWare – a studio that I think of as home.

"BioWare continues to hold a special magic – full of profoundly talented people, and an inspiring creative energy. When I look at the stunning progress Aaryn and the team has made with Anthem, and the other projects in the works, I truly believe our best is yet to come."

News of Flynn's exit and Hudson's return come after the studio's latest title Mass Effect: Andromeda was released in March to disappointing critical and commercial response and was plagued with animation and technical issues. In April, a Kotaku report revealed that the Mass Effect series had been put on "hiatus".

"In closing, let me thank our players for everything they've given us over these many years, and to say from the bottom of my heart how important you are to me and the rest of BioWare", Flynn said.

"I have gone to work every day knowing that I am fortunate to have all of the opportunities I have had at BioWare because of you. Doing whatever I could to help our developers create some of the best games in the industry for you all has been the most humbling experience of my life. Now, I'll be playing BioWare's games in the future from an exciting new perspective – yours."

BioWare's Anthem is set to release sometime in Autumn 2018 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.