Today Bioware Co-Founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka announced that they are leaving the company, and possibly video games in general.

Both have made statements on their departure via their blogs, that basically express their interest in moving on to other ventures. Muzyka provides a vague idea of his interests moving forward saying:

“I believe strongly in the power of free enterprise to enable sustainable change, so my next ‘chapter’ will likely focus on an entirely new industry, something exciting, different and frankly downright scary – investing in and mentoring new entrepreneurs, and more specifically, the field of social/impact investing.”

Zeschuk provides a clearer idea of his life moving forward, as he expresses the usual interest of his desire to spend more time with his family along with the more specific desire to get into the craft beer industry:

“The main project I will be working on is a web-based interview show called The Beer Diaries where I interview notable brewers and showcase their beers. If things go well, I’ll work on other beer-related shows, apps and projects.”

The most telling, and somewhat disheartening, statement provided by either man would belong to Zeschuk who also said:

“I’ve reached an unexpected point in my life where I no longer have the passion that I once did for the company, for the games, and for the challenge of creation.”

Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka both got into the video game industry after graduating medical school at the University of Alberta. They worked on medical based computer programs before that same passion for gaming led them, and co-founder, Augustine Yip, to create their first title “Shattered Steel” for publisher Interplay. From that point they spearheaded a studio that’s game catalogue reads like the upper end of most best video games of all time lists. Bioware has revolutionized Western and PC RPGs with “Baldur’s Gate,” made one of the all time great cult classics in “MDK2,” crafted the greatest “Star Wars” game of all time (and one of the most important games period) in “Knights of the Old Republic,” and just recently have made two of the best series of this generation with “Dragon Age” and “Mass Effect.”

More important than any individual contributions, however, are the greater ideas that Zeschuk and Muzyka promoted with Bioware. Through several generations, they helped run a studio that always advanced the RPG genre with each new entry (and gaming as a whole in most cases) and proved yet again that maintaining artistic integrity and achieving financial success are not mutually exclusive in the business. While the departure of Zeschuk and Mzyka doesn’t mean Bioware will no longer achieve those same goals, it is sad to realize that even such legends in the industry can simply lose their passion and walk away.

Of course, like Neil Young said, “Sometimes it’s better to burn out, than to fade away.” Zeschuk and Muzyka leave behind an undisputed legacy that future generations of developers can only hope to duplicate, but should most certainly learn to appreciate. Here’s hoping them the best in the future.

Also, Greg, I’ll buy a case of Baldur’s Beer, or Icewind Ale should they hit store shelves.

The game will be download only, available from GameTree, Direct2Drive, GamersGate, GameTap and Best Buy. No physical version has been announced. You can get two versions of the game, the Standard and Digital Deluxe at $49.95 and $64.95, respectively. Both versions include the Blood Armor content, and the latter will get you the Warden’s Keep expansion. It’s a pretty sweet deal either way, especially considering we aren’t that far from the game’s launch.

EA’s got the full press release.

He sees the same sort of paradox in multiplayer/RPG gaming. It’s hard to keep control of a good story when you open the world to millions of player interactions, but those single player experiences leave something to be desired. As Muzyka puts it, “It’s hard to weave a great single-player storyline into a multiplayer experience. It’s not impossible. We’ve done it, and we’re doing it again now in Star Wars: The Old Republic. But it is challenging.”

As for the other way around, he’s not totally thrilled with the idea of a co-op mode for something like Mass Effect 2. “They could make a great gameplay experience,” he said. “Whether we’ll do them or not remains to be decided.” I think “could” is key because I’ve yet to see a co-op experience that I would choose over the single player, at least in an RPG.

For more on DA:O you can read the full interview at Videogamer.com.

The thing looks pretty awesome, and once again should lead to some extremely cool user-generated content. When I first heard about Origins I was sad it wasn’t an MMO. More and more I find myself attracted to games with a significant multiplayer facet, and turned off by single player games. This is the kind of feature that builds a great community around a game that could otherwise have a limited shelf-life for most players, regardless of how cool it is.

You have to have a registered copy of the game (obviously only on PC) to get the download. You can find out more about it over at Bioware’s site.

I think it’s a great move. I love games with custom characters, but I usually don’t spend any time with the feature until my second toon. My first character starts off to be the epic beast I plan to use to rule the planet. About three minutes in, though, my desire to actually play the game takes over and I end up with a crooked beard and bad teeth.

Alongside the character creator, Bioware is opening the game’s community site. There you’ll be able to upload your custom characters and participate in the game specific forums.

The delay began as a rumor based on altered release dates at several major retailers. BioWare quickly denied the rumor, claiming they were sticking to the October 20th release. Just a day later they officially confirmed the delay and announced the new release date.

What does this mean for you? Well for one, you’ll be waiting to get that freak on with the animal of your choice. For another, not a whole lot. The release was still far enough away that it shouldn’t affect anyone too terribly. What they would be changing this late in the process is beyond me, but I’m not really the developing type. The Playstation 3 version of the game has been delayed with the PC and Xbox 360 versions, though without a set launch date.

Those of you ready to drop some big bucks on the single player game from BioWare will get treated to the standard CE fare. This includes “making of” footage, a soundtrack, trailers, wallpapers, concept art, etc. You’ll also get a cloth map, 3 exclusive in-game items, and that special item for Mass Effect 2.

Gamestop’s got their pricing information posted. For PC users, you’re looking at a $65 tag. Xbox 360 owners will pay a full $75. Worth it for the cloth map?