The first Mass Effect's lead writer, Drew Karpyshyn, left the studio a few years ago to focus on writing his series of Chaos Born novels, but has recently returned to the studio.

Karpyshyn's BioWare credits include lead writer on Mass Effect, co-lead writer on Mass Effect 2, as well as writing credits on Jade Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and many other BioWare titles. Karpyshyn left BioWare in 2012, but even then made it clear he was not severing ties with the studio. Karpyshyn announced his return on his blog writing, "A few years ago I left BioWare to focus on my Chaos Born novels, but now that the trilogy is finished, I’ve decided to come back into the fold." Karpyshyn doesn't go into detail about what he will be working on, but does confirm that he won't be working on any new unannounced BioWare projects writing, "I suspect a lot of folks are going to wonder if this means BioWare is about to announce a new project tied to my return. The short answer: no. I originally came to the Austin studio many years ago to work on SWTOR and – at least for now – that’s what I’m focusing on again."

BioWare is working on a new entry in the Mass Effect series, with Mass Effect Andromeda, but little is known about the game outside of its title. You can read more about the game here.

[Source: drewkarpyshyn.com, via NeoGAF]

Our Take

I don't know how much Karpyshyn overall affected the narrative of the Mass Effect series, but considering Mass Effect 2 is my personal favorite of the trilogy, and he worked extensively on that entry, I am glad to see him make a return to the studio. For now though, it sounds like he will be concentrating on the Star Wars side of BioWare.