Mass Effect director Casey Hudson has canceled the new IP.

Key Takeaways

Humanoid Origin, the studio founded by BioWare veteran Casey Hudson, has announced it is closing its doors.
The studio was founded in 2021 and has been working on a new sci-fi IP for which we've only seen concept art. This project has now been cancelled.
The closure was blamed on “unexpected funding shortfalls.”

Humanoid Origin, the studio led by BioWare veteran Casey Hudson, is closing. This was just three years after the company was founded and before the game was released.

Prior to this, Humanoid Origin was working on a new sci-fi IP. This hasn't been released yet, so it's unclear how much progress was made before the project was canceled and the studio closed.

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Humanoid Origin's closure was just confirmed in a LinkedIn post, citing “broader challenges in the industry” and an “unforeseen lack of funding” as reasons for the closure.

Casey Hudson's new studio closes after leaving BioWare

The reason for the sudden closure is lack of funding and the current state of the gaming industry.

Two people standing on a balcony looking at a strange alien planet covered in clouds. As the sun sets, the sky turns orange, and in the distance you can see a futuristic flying structure floating in the air.

“We are heartbroken that we will not be able to complete our new sci-fi universe,” the post reads. “But our main focus right now is our team, and we are doing everything we can to help them transition to their new workplace.

“During our time together, the team has made incredible progress and shown us that it is possible to achieve amazing things while fostering a culture of fun and creativity. We are grateful for their talent, courage and friendship.”

Hudson founded Humanoid Origins in 2021 after leaving BioWare for the second time the previous year. While at BioWare, he was the director of the first three Mass Effect games and also worked on other hits such as Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. After leaving BioWare in 2014 (making Mass Effect: Andromeda the first game in the series without his involvement), he returned to oversee Anthem, serving as executive producer for several years.

The fact that a studio led by an industry veteran who worked on much-loved games is still having trouble securing funding is a serious indictment of the current industry. Independent studios struggle to survive and release games, while studios owned by large corporations often face layoffs and closures by their parent companies. BioWare itself wasn't immune to this, laying off around 50 developers just a year before Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released.