Key Takeaways
- Humanoid Origin, a studio founded by BioWare veteran Casey Hudson, has announced that it is shutting down.
- The studio was founded in 2021 and was working on a new sci-fi IP, which we’ve only seen concept art of. This project is now cancelled.
- The closure is blamed on an “unexpected shortfall of funding”.
Humanoid Origin, a studio headed by BioWare veteran Casey Hudson, is shutting down. This comes just three years after the company was formed, and before it could launch a game.
Prior to this, Humanoid Origin was working on a new sci-fi IP. This was yet to be unveiled, so it’s unclear how far the project got before its cancellation and the studio closure.
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The closure of Humanoid Origin was just confirmed in a LinkedIn post, with “broader challenges in the industry” and and “unexpected shortfall of funding” cited as the reasons for the shutdown
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“We’re heartbroken that we will not be able to bring our new science-fiction universe to completion,” the post reads. “Our main concern at this time however is for our team, and we are committed to supporting them in their transition to new employment.
“In our time together, the team achieved incredible progress, and demonstrated that it’s possible to do amazing work while fostering a culture of fun and creativity. We thank them for their talent, courage, and friendship.”
Hudson founded Humanoid Origins in 2021, after leaving BioWare for the second time the previous year. During his time at BioWare, he was a director on the first three Mass Effect games and worked on other hits such as Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. After leaving BioWare in 2014 (making Mass Effect: Andromeda the first game in the series without his involvement), he returned to work as general manager for a few years, overseeing Anthem.
The fact that a studio headed by an industry veteran who has worked on so many beloved games still struggled to secure funding is a dire indictment of the industry right now. While independent studios struggle to stay afloat and get their games out the door, those owned by larger companies also face layoffs and closures imposed on them by their parent companies. BioWare itself was not immune to this, laying off around 50 developers just over a year before Dragon Age: The Veilguard launched.
