Summary
BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk has recently revealed that his biggest regret regardingJade Empirewas releasing it for the original Xbox at the end of its cycle.Jade Empireis one of BioWare’s lesser-known games, as the title never received a sequel.
Jade Empirewas launched for the original Xbox in 2005, gaining later releases for PC in 2007 and mobile in 2016. In a world inspired by Chinese mythology,Jade Empireputs the player as the last surviving Spirit Monk who goes on a quest to save their tutor, facing the forces of darkness during the journey. Despite often being considered among the best games made by BioWare,Jade Empirenever received a sequel, and a recent interview with Zeschuk may help gamers to understand why.
In a recent interview with theMy Perfect Consolepodcast, Greg Zeschuk revealed that he believes the main reason why the game failed to get traction was because it was released at the end of the original Xbox’s cycle. According to Zeschuk, “Microsoft was like ‘no no, you should release it now, right at the end of the cycle, because it’s a great time’… it was the worst advice.” Had BioWare waited for the launch of the Xbox 360, which was much more successful than its predecessor,Jade Empirecould have been a bigger hit, attracting a larger fanbase.
BioWare Co-Founder Regrets Releasing Jade Empire for the Original Xbox
Microsoft was like ‘no no, you should release it now, right at the end of the cycle, because it’s a great time’… it was the worst advice
Rumors about aJade Empiresequel have appeared from time to time after the game’s release. In 2019, for example,EA filed a trademark forJade Empire, which hyped fans for a possible sequel that did not happen.
In 2021, former BioWare developer Mark Darrah revealed thatJade Empire 2was canceledafter being in development. Development originally started soon after the first game was released, and would be set a few decades after the original title. However, BioWare made big changes at the time and focused more onMass Effect, which effectively killed the project.
Over the years, fans kept hoping for aJade Empiresequel, but it does not seem very likely anymore. After the recentDragon Age: The Veilguardunderperformed EA’s expectations, BioWare suffered layoffs and some people were sent to other studios. What’s left of the studio is currently entirely focused on the upcomingMass Effect, which does not have an official release date yet.
