A documentary about BioWare that began filming two years ago now has a different ending from the one its makers could have planned. Video Games Chronicle reports that Massive Effect: The BioWare Story set out to chart the rise of one of the industry's most successful RPG studios, and will now also document its final days.
The film is being made for Canada's Super Channel and will premiere some time in 2027, according to VGC. Kotaku reports that it comes from Shane Fennessey and Adam Scorgie, and that it will open with a film festival run, with UpstreamFlix handling "worldwide" distribution.
Both outlets trace these details to a report by Deadline, which we couldn't check directly, so everything here is attributed to VGC and Kotaku as they reported it. No exact premiere date, festival or streaming date has been given in either report.
Who is in the film
The cast list covers a lot of BioWare's history. VGC says co-founders Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip will appear, and names Drew Karpyshyn, Aaryn Flynn and Mac Walters from the Mass Effect side, David Gaider and James Ohlen from Dragon Age, plus Jennifer Hale, the voice of female Commander Shepard, and voice-over director Caroline Livingstone. Kotaku's list also includes Casey Hudson, Mark Darrah and Trent Oster.
VGC also notes who isn't named so far, pointing to several prominent BioWare writers and saying it remains to be seen whether they feature at all.
Kotaku quotes a statement Muzyka and Zeschuk gave Deadline: "When the production team asked for our blessing to tell the BioWare story, we were honored and deeply moved." They added: "BioWare was never just about the logo or the building. It was about the stories brought to life by the amazing people on our dev teams, and the fans who defended those worlds, championed them and carried them forward."
Super Channel, for its part, is stressing the Edmonton connection. VGC quotes Kim Ball, the broadcaster's EVP of content and communications: "As an Edmonton-based company, we're especially proud to celebrate BioWare's extraordinary hometown story and the people, creativity and groundbreaking storytelling behind some of the most beloved games of a generation."
A film that changed under its makers
The timing is the odd part. Kotaku reports that BioWare was shut down on October 21, about two weeks before this news. Because filming began two years ago, Kotaku suggests the film may offer a look at the studio's final years working on the now-cancelled Mass Effect: Universe, though it frames that as what it sounds like rather than anything confirmed. Neither report says how much of that period the crew actually filmed.
The fan response is still going, too. Kotaku says an e-petition asking the Canadian government to help BioWare employees acquire the studio and its IP rights has passed the signatures needed to be heard in the House of Commons.
VGC reports that the film has a website asking fans to share memories of BioWare games, including "fan art, cosplay, photos or videos from conventions, personal memorabilia, or footage capturing your experiences with BioWare." So there is one way to end up in the story, if not necessarily on screen.
What comes next is a festival run and the 2027 premiere, with dates still to be announced.
Finn's take: Documentaries usually arrive after the ending is known. This one was already rolling when the ending turned up, and that may make it more interesting than the studio history it set out to be. If the cameras caught people not knowing what was coming, that could be something else.
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