BioWare founders honoured with Order of Canada

BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have been recognised with the Order of Canada, one of the nation's highest honours.

Founded in 1995 by the then medical students in Edmonton, Alberta, Bioware grew to over 1,500 staff across eight international locations before it was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2007.

The pair retired from games in 2012 to pursue other ventures; Zeschuck now owns a brewing company where he runs charity events and a gastro pub, while Muzyka mentors entrepreneurs in the tech and medical industries.

In an announcement from the Governor General's office, both Muzyka and Zeschuck were recognised for their "revolutionary contributions to the video game industry as a developer and co-founder of an internationally renowned studio".

Speaking with CBC News, Zeschuk said: "We just try to do great stuff and try and help people and try and work with great people and build things, and to be recognized for that is really an amazing honour."

Muzyka added: "As an industry, video games in Alberta wouldn't be here without BioWare as a foundation."

Crediting BioWare's success to its employees, Muzyka continued: "That's always been something I think both of us have felt - surround ourselves with people who are smarter than us and passionate and bright, just sparks that you can learn from and grow with.

"We always tried to treat everybody we worked with with great respect."

Established in 1967 to recognise Canadians who make "extraordinary contributions to the nation", the Order of Canada was awarded to 103 people in total this year.