BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta.
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BioWare specializes in role-playing video games, and achieved recognition for developing highly praised and successful licensed franchises: Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
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In 2011, BioWare launched their first massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Star Wars: The Old Republic.
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BioWare was incorporated on 1 February 1995, though formally launched on 22 May 1995.
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When Interplay financed "exploratory development", BioWare presented the publishers with a demo called Battleground: Infinity.
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MDK2 drew the same level of praise as its predecessor but, despite the success, BioWare returned to the Baldur's Gate series for their next project.
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Subsequently, BioWare began to work with Infogrames, which was later renamed to Atari.
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BioWare therefore became a unit of EA, but retained its own branding.
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In 2007, BioWare released the science fiction role-playing game Mass Effect.
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The following year, BioWare released Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on the Nintendo DS, its first title for a handheld game console.
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Later, EA announced that BioWare would be merged with Mythic Entertainment, another division of EA, so that they could have all of their role-playing game development in one business unit.
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Ray Muzyka, co-founder and general manager of BioWare, was appointed the Group general manager of this newly formed "BioWare Group".
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BioWare's studios remained unchanged and continued to report to Muzyka.
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In January 2010, BioWare released the sequel to Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, which would go on to receive critical acclaim and many awards.
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On 18 September 2012, the next day after the official announcement of the third Dragon Age title, both Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, two of the remaining co-founders of BioWare, simultaneously announced they would be retiring from the gaming industry.
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At E3 2014, BioWare Edmonton announced working on a new original intellectual property in addition to continuing their established series.
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Between 1998 and 2011, BioWare developed a number of in-house video game engines to serve as technical basis for their games.
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When Beamdog sought out a license from BioWare and started engineering enhanced versions of these games in 2012, they created an updated version Infinity Engine, referred to as the "Infinity Enhanced Engine".
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BioWare used the Aurora Engine to produce their 2002 Neverwinter Nights, as well as two expansion packs.
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Obsidian Entertainment used an updated version of BioWare's Aurora, titled "Electron Engine", to produce Neverwinter Nights 2 and its three expansion packs.
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BioWare maintained limited oversight on Obsidian's development of The Sith Lords, as well as Neverwinter Nights 2.
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In September 2004, BioWare acquired a license to use Unreal Engine 3 from developer Epic Games.
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