James Ohlen Leaves BioWare for Tabletop RPG Publishing Venture

There have been many key contributors to the success of BioWare since its inception back in 1995, and as lead designer on many of their greatest titles going back to the original Baldur’s Gate, James Ohlen is certainly one of them. So it’s with mixed emotions to read this tweet from James that he has retired from BioWare to work on an independent publishing venture with another former BioWare designer – Jesse Sky – under the name of Arcanum Worlds.

Their first project will be “a hardcover sourcebook for the fifth edition of the world’s greatest roleplaying game”, which I can only presume means Dungeons & Dragons. Given his track record, this is one project I’ll be keeping a very close eye on:

After 22 years I have retired from BioWare. I've loved my time with Anthem, Star Wars, Dragon Age and Dungeons and Dragons. But I need to take a break from the industry and work on something a little smaller and more personal.

— James Ohlen (@JamesOhlen) July 12, 2018

The most fun I've ever had at BioWare was as the lead designer on Baldur's Gate 1+2 and NWN. I've been a D&D fanatic since I was 10 years old and I want to be a part of it again. Please visit https://t.co/412NLtStkx to see what I'm talking about.

— James Ohlen (@JamesOhlen) July 12, 2018