The Mass Effect Andromeda development team has lost a senior staffer. Lead writer Chris Schlerf confirmed on Twitter today that he’s left BioWare to join Destiny developer Bungie. Schlerf had been with BioWare for almost two years, according to his LinkedIn page (via Polygon). Before BioWare, be worked at 343 Industries on Halo 4.
To confirm what some folks asked about a few months back, I am no longer working on ME:A at BioWare Montreal.
— schlerf (@schlerf) February 16, 2016
Sincerely one of the best experiences of my career-I’m incredibly grateful to have worked w/ such talented & truly wonderful human beings.
— schlerf (@schlerf) February 16, 2016
Think MEA is really gonna blow people away; couldn’t be prouder to be part of it, & excited like a lil kid to play the final when it’s out.
— schlerf (@schlerf) February 16, 2016
All that said, very happy to be back in Seattle, working with this scrappy little company called Bungie that some of you may have heard of.
— schlerf (@schlerf) February 16, 2016
Think we might have some interesting stories to tell…
— schlerf (@schlerf) February 16, 2016
Schlerf’s LinkedIn page contains some possible hints at the direction Andromeda, which he described in his tweets as a game that will “blow people away,” may take.
One of his duties included: “Expansion of traditional BioWare storytelling tools and techniques into new areas leveraging increased player choice and agency, in-world narrative, and asynchronous storytelling.”
At the end of 2015, another high-ranking Andromeda developer, senior producer Chris Wynn, left BioWare. He has since joined H1Z1 developer Daybreak Games.
Andromeda launches in fall 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A new teaser trailer (below) was released in November.