Mass Effect: Andromeda lead writer confirms he has left BioWare

Mass Effect Andromeda

Chris Schlerf, who joined BioWare in late 2013 to take over the lead writing duties on Mass Effect: Andromeda, has announced on Twitter that he has left the studio, and is now working in the same capacity at Destiny developer Bungie. His LinkedIn profile indicates that he actually departed BioWare in September of last year, but he only confirmed the move today.

See more

“Sincerely one of the best experiences of my career-I'm incredibly grateful to have worked w/ such talented & truly wonderful human beings. Think MEA is really gonna blow people away; couldn't be prouder to be part of it, & excited like a lil kid to play the final when it's out,” he wrote in follow-up tweets. “All that said, very happy to be back in Seattle, working with this scrappy little company called Bungie that some of you may have heard of. Think we might have some interesting stories to tell...”

Schlerf is the second high-profile writer to leave BioWare in recent weeks. Just a month ago, former Dragon Age Lead Writer David Gaider left the studio as well, shortly after which he joined Beamdog, the studio making Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, as its creative director. Schlerf's new gig with Bungie has a similar back-to-his-roots twist: Prior to coming to BioWare he was with 343 Industries, where he served as the lead writer on Halo 4, the series that fell to 343 after Bungie moved on to Destiny.

It came to light last summer that Bungie was hiring for a PC-related project. There's no official word yet whether that project is Destiny, but if it is, maybe this means it will finally have a story by the time we get it.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.