“What if Larian had shut down after Divine Divinity?”: Star Trek Online exec scorns publishers who close teams like BioWare in favour of “AAA veteran” start-ups and AI “magic beans”

Star Trek Online executive producer Thomas Marrone has criticised publishers for breaking up established game development teams and betting on new studios or emerging technologies. In response to EA closing BioWare, he argued that dismantling experienced teams wastes valuable skills and relationships, and can undermine publishers’ long-term prospects.

Marrone said successful studios often build towards major hits over several games, citing Blizzard, Larian and Arrowhead. He compared forming a new team from unrelated industry veterans to expecting a newly assembled band to become the Beatles overnight, arguing that creative teams need time to develop a shared vision and trust. Marrone has worked at Cryptic Studios for 16 years; the company has also faced layoffs and changes in ownership.