Mac Walters, a former developer for the beloved Mass Effect series, recently shared insights into his decision to depart from BioWare and establish his own gaming studio. His departure was influenced significantly by the success of the 2021 release of Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Starting his journey with BioWare as a writer for the RPG Jade Empire, Walters later played a crucial role in shaping the narrative of the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy. Subsequently, he briefly served as a narrative director for Anthem before returning to the Mass Effect universe for Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017.

Walters' final role at BioWare was as the project director for the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. However, earlier this year, he announced his departure from BioWare after nearly 19 years, founding his own development team called Worlds Untold. Under the support of Chinese gaming company NetEase, this Vancouver-based studio aims to create narrative-driven, high-quality action-adventure games while striving to build successful franchises akin to the ones Walters contributed to at BioWare.

One of Walters' final projects at BioWare was the development of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a remastered compilation of the first three Mass Effect games along with all their supplementary downloadable content. During a recent interview with the gaming channel MinnMax, Walters disclosed that the triumph of Legendary Edition was a pivotal factor in his decision to move on from the beloved sci-fi RPG franchise. He expressed, “It just felt like this is the bow on all the things I've done in Mass Effect. I don't want to do any more Mass Effect after this. Why tempt fate?”

Walters recounted the challenging development cycle for Mass Effect Legendary Edition, likening it to the early days of BioWare where a small team of developers formed close bonds while creating titles such as the original Mass Effect. This development cycle also overlapped with other major projects like Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, requiring Walters to be