Archetype Entertainment, the Wizards of the Coast-created gaming studio has taken to YouTube to post a second ‘Founders Q&A’ update. Some faces at the studio will be well-known to fans of the legendary Mass Effect series. Three alumni of that record-breaking set of games led Exodus’ development.

Studio Head James Ohlen, Chad Robertson as General Manager, and well-known narrative writer Drew Karpyshyn are all award-winning gaming veterans.

Exodus Update

Ohlen said the creative team piled all the sci-fi writers they cherish into four stacked tiers. He continued “We really wanted to have some great science-fiction minds involved in building this universe with us. I was expecting we’d get a writer from tier 3 or 4, but never someone from tier 1 or 2. Then we found out that Peter Hamilton was a possibility.”

Acclaimed British sci-fi writer Peter F. Hamilton has joined the team to help craft the universe and has released a book, Exodus: The Archimedes Engine, a precursor to the game.

The video contained a brief overview of the progress the studio was making and a cameo mention for Mathew McConaughey. According to Robertson “One thing we have seen that is exciting is all the (fan) theories about how Matthew plays a role in our game.”

Ohlen continued “Matthew’s character will have a huge presence in the game. From the very start. To the end. To the epilogue of the game.”

“Companions are a huge part of Exodus we understand how important they are to players,” said Robertson. “We’ve got an amazing diverse cast of companions that we’ve put together. I would love to reveal a bunch of them today but so far we’ve only revealed one and that’s Elise.”

Elise was briefly teased by Archetype in shot announcement video with the #lovestofight hashtag.

When asked about the universe’s inhabitants, Ohlen continued that the term “Alien” doesn’t apply to the broad swathe of lifeforms players encounter in their space-faring.

He said, “Everything in the universe of Exodus has a terrestrial origin, however, they have evolved over tens of thousands of years. So some of them have evolved into incredibly strange, wondrous, and weird creatures. They are much weirder than other classic aliens you might see in other science fiction franchises.”

In the last few years, only a few role-playing games can hold a candle to the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. Narratively, the only successor that could rival Bioware’s crown is Larian Studios, who interestingly enough will be cutting ties with Hasbro, as we reported.

Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast and the company’s gaming division that in turn runs Archetype.

Hasbro has a large Baldur’s Gate 3-shaped hole both in its projected profits with Larian leaving and in terms of the titles that fans are eagerly looking forward to.

One constant in the success of Mass Effect and Dragon Age is the tag-team of Ohlen and Karpyshyn. Both worked on Dragon Age, Neverwinter, Baldur’s Gate, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. So their chevrons in the gaming world are the top tier, as are their award cabinets.

“We both want to express our appreciation for the support we are seeing online, on our social channels and through the press we have received,” the video would conclude. “That early support from the community means so much to us and the entire team. Thank you, and stay tuned!”

Image: Exodus.

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