BioWare - EA Finalizes Acquisition & Gains 10 Franchises

The finalization of the EA/Bioware/Pandemic deal is being reported all over the net, and marks the official beginning of Bioware being run as a division of EA. Gamasutra gives the summary of details:

Electronic Arts has announced that it has completed its purchase of VG Holding Corp, making final the company's acquisition of BioWare and Pandemic Studios under the EA Games label, with which the company gains ten new franchises based on six wholly-owned IP.

EA Games president Frank Gibeau will oversee both studios within his organization, and BioWare's Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have each been named as vice presidents of EA and co-general managers of BioWare. Similarly, Pandemic's Andrew Goldman and Josh Resnick have each been named vice presidents of EA and co-general managers of Pandemic, while Greg Borrud has been named vice president of EA and chief production officer of Pandemic Studios.

EA has said it aims to broaden its portfolio through the acquisition of the two labels, hoping to attain a competitive position in the RPG, action and adventure genres. EA agreed to pay up to $620 million in cash to the stockholders of the studios' parent, VG Holding Corp, and also said it would issue up to an additional $155 million in equity to certain vested or high-performing employees of VG Holding Corp.

The full press release is reported here at gamesindustry.biz
More information.

While I offer congrats to the original founders of Biware… I can't help but feel some beloved CRPG franchises will go the way of Ultima (single player series) and Lands of Lore.

Greed of Stockholders. Bah !

Since I refuse to buy EA games, I'm not sure what to do about Dragon Age, assuming it's ever released!!

If you have an opportunity to see it without paying full price take a look at it, but its probably not worth purchasing (I heard that somewhere).

This sounds highly illegal and if it really passed Federal approval it's only because the agency oversite has been gutted and run by an inside industry shill, like the EPA, FCC, USDA and DoJ by the criminal administration.

Hey Squeek, you might get fired for saying something like that

This just mean one thing… new Bioware rpgs are going straight to hell!!!

In a couple of years, the news topic can just read: "Bioware - EA Finalizes".

no EA Closes bioware, making online version of their most famous games ( which are later cancelled )

I've been somewhat less enthusiastic on BioGames since they became plot and character driven to the extent that they have been lately (and by lately, I mean since HotU), although in truth I wasn't impressed with the original NWN OC either; different reasoning with that particular offering, though. Story may be paramount in RPGs to many people, but it just seems to me that their games all but ignore half of that equation: they've got the character development aspect down pat, and they've got a strong (really really strong) plotline to follow, but the setting -- just as much a story element as any joinable NPC -- has been so severely lacking or restricted that it hasn't even felt like my character is in any sort of world: just one long tube slide to victory with some interesting characters and a plot twist to go along with them.

The point is, if this acquisition really is the death knell of BioWare (which I doubt), I find myself surprisingly indifferent about it. Absolutely love the BG series, even ToB, but Bio's been anything but a "must-buy" developer for me since that time.