| Birth Name: | Gregory Zeschuk |
| Birth Date: | 1969 |
| Birth Place: | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada[1] |
| Known For: | BioWare |
| Awards: | Lifetime Achievement Award (Game Developers Choice Awards, 2013)[2] Member of the Order of Canada, 2018[3] |
Gregory Zeschuk (born 1969)[4] is a Canadian businessman who was a VP at Electronic Arts and General Manager at BioWare Austin until 2012. He co-founded video game developer BioWare in Edmonton in 1995 with Ray Muzyka and Augustine Yip, after all three earned their medical degrees from the University of Alberta.[5] Zeschuk announced his retirement from BioWare on September 18, 2012.[6] He is currently involved in a number of projects related to the craft-beer industry, including the production of a web-based interview show known as "The Beer Diaries."[7] Greg is also the chairman of the board of the smart playground technology startup, Biba Ventures based in Vancouver, BC.
In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time alongside Ray Muzyka.[8]
Zeschuk was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[1] Growing up, Zeschuk played many role-playing games, including Dungeons & Dragons, saying he felt they were "always the strongest experience." During his childhood, he spent one summer making games on his Apple computer with a group of his friends.[5]
Zeschuk attended the University of Alberta, studying medicine, where he met fellow medical students Ray Muzyka and Augustine Yip working on medical simulation programs.[9] During their residency, the first software they produced was called the Acid-Base Simulator. Zeschuk graduated in 1992, and was appointed Research Associate in the Division of Studies in Medical Education along with Muzyka.[10] Zeschuk then spent two years training in both the US and Canada. In 1994, he and Muzyka began working on a piece of medical simulator software called Gastroenterology Patient Simulator. While working on this, the team realised they were more passionate about video game development rather than medical software.[11] Zeschuck, Muzyka and Yip pooled together $100,000 and set out to make their first game.[9] BioWare was incorporated on 1 February 1995 in a small room in Zeschuk's basement.[10]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Shattered Steel | President and Joint-CEO |
| 1998 | Baldur's Gate | Lead Production |
| 1999 | Lead Production | |
| 2000 | Executive Producer | |
| MDK 2 | Executive Producer | |
| 2001 | Executive Producer | |
| 2002 | Neverwinter Nights | Co-Executive Producer (with Ray Muzyka) |
| 2003 | Joint CEO | |
| 2004 | Special Thanks | |
| 2005 | Jade Empire | Co-Executive Producer |
| 2006 | Neverwinter Nights 2 | Special Thanks |
| 2007 | Mass Effect | Executive Producer (President) |
| 2008 | President | |
| 2009 | Director of Development | |
| Vice-presidents (RPG/MMO Group) | ||
| 2010 | Mass Effect 2 | Co-founder and VP |
| 2011 | Dragon Age II | General Manager, BioWare Austin |
| Co-founder, BioWare and BioWare MMO Business Unit General Manager, BioWare Austin General Manager, Vice President, EA | ||
| 2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Co-founder BioWare, BioWare MMO Business Unit General Manager, BioWare Austin General Manager, Vice President, EA |
At the Game Developers Choice Awards, on March 27, 2013, Zeschuk received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
On December 27, 2018, Zeschuk was appointed to the Order of Canada.[3]