Former Mass Effect studio director says his new sci-fi RPG "isn't trying to compete against Starfield," just wants "the best possible science fiction universe"

James Ohlen is no stranger to intriguing RPG worlds, having worked at developer BioWare for two decades on everything from Baldur’s Gate to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. He’s now working to create “the best possible science fiction universe” at an entirely new studio, Archetype Entertainment, but the team's first game Exodus “isn’t trying to compete against Starfield.”

“Oh, we’re a different kind of game than [Starfield],” Ohlen says when asked about similarities in an interview with GamesRadar+. Exodus is instead “more similar” to games that the team - which consists of former Halo, Last Of Us, and Mass Effect developers - have worked on in the past. 

“Which means we still want to create this horizon where you feel you can go where you want to,” Ohlen continues, “but at the same time, we want to have a story that’s cohesive, with characters that you can love or hate, and with arcs that are compelling.” Sounds much leaner than Starfield’s 1,000 planets, but maybe it’ll lead to a more focused experience as a result. 

In regards to universe size and narrative ambitions, “It’s all a balance,” Ohlen says. “If you look at the kinds of games we’ve made in the past, you can probably guess at where the balance is going to be. But I don’t think we’re trying to compete against Starfield.”

Exodus might be following in Mass Effect’s footsteps, but this new “unique” universe aims to set itself apart. “We wanted to make sure that it was the best possible science fiction universe we could build,” Ohlen continues, giving an extra nod to his newfound freedom “to make decisions both creatively and in building the studio and the people we work with.”

Exodus’ publisher is actually Wizards of the Coast, the owners of Dungeons & Dragons, and Ohlen says the company has allowed them to do things “we’ve always wanted to do, but often couldn’t, [and] now we’ve been given that opportunity.”

James Ohlen previously explained how Final Fantasy 7 influenced Baldur’s Gate. He also revealed his own extensive D&D history, which obviously inspired his work on some historic RPGs.