Games like Mass Effect, Baldur's Gate, and Dragon Age have influenced generations of players. However, on October 22, 2026, EA announced the closure of BioWare. With BioWare's departure, the gaming world has lost a true RPG legend.
In addition to the studio's three major franchises, BioWare has released many other games worthy of a proper farewell since 1996. On Reddit, fans are looking back on BioWare's 30-year RPG history, bringing several titles overshadowed by classic RPGs back into the spotlight.
30 Years, 20 Games
BioWare's first game was Shattered Steel, released in 1996, about a year after the studio's founding. However, it was not an RPG but a futuristic mech shooter that did not attract much attention.
In BioWare's first game, Shattered Steel, players control heavily armed combat mechs, fighting alien enemies on distant planets.
Two years later, the release of Baldur's Gate truly put BioWare on the map. Between the first and second parts of the Baldur's Gate series, BioWare also launched MDK2, a quirky and brilliant action shooter, most notably featuring a fully armed robotic Dog.exe fighting aliens. The game was well-received at the time, but perhaps has been forgotten by many players due to the massive success of the RPGs BioWare released afterward.
In the stylistically unique action shooter MDK2, players control three distinct characters as they battle against an alien invasion.
Between Baldur's Gate and Mass Effect, BioWare released several other excellent titles in the early 2000s. For instance, Neverwinter Nights (2002) continued the success of Baldur's Gate and introduced a fully 3D game world. One of its highlights was a powerful editor that allowed players to create their own adventure stories. The game currently holds a score of 91 on Metacritic.
Neverwinter Nights is a fantasy RPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, similar to Baldur's Gate. Its built-in editor allows players to create their own adventure stories.
Of course, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic also deserves a mention. To this day, many still consider it one of the best Star Wars games ever made.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a Star Wars RPG set approximately 4,000 years before the events of the films. Players can choose whether to follow the light side or the dark side of the Force.
Additionally, there is Jade Empire, an action RPG inspired by Eastern culture, which holds an 89 rating on Metacritic, placing it among BioWare's highest-rated games.
Jade Empire is an action RPG where players take on the role of a martial arts student in a fantasy world inspired by ancient China.
Among the many titles, the most notable is Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood, released in 2008. Many Reddit users didn't even know that BioWare had developed a Sonic game.
It is also worth noting that more than half of the 20 games shown in the collage were released by BioWare between 2005 and 2014. This period can be considered BioWare's golden age.
