Gregory Zeschuk (born 1969) 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. Zeschuk announced his retirement from BioWare on September 18, 2012. 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." Zeschuk 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.
In 2017 he opened Blind Enthusiam Brewing Co. inside Biera, his award winning restaurant, In Edmonton, Alberta. Then in 2022 expanded the brewing operations to a new location called The Monolith, also in Edmonton, Alberta, specializing in Spontaneous and Wild/Mixed culture beer. In 2023, The Monolith won Gold and Bronze in the Belgian Sour Beer Category at the prestigious World Beer Cup.
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Early life
Zeschuk was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 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 II computer with a group of his friends.
Founding of BioWare
Zeschuk attended the University of Alberta, studying medicine, where he met fellow medical students Ray Muzyka and Augustine Yip working on medical simulation programs. 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. 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. Zeschuck, Muzyka and Yip pooled together $100,000 and set out to make their first game. BioWare was incorporated on 1 February 1995 in a small room in Zeschuk's basement.
Awards and recognition
In 2011, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences bestowed Zeschuk (along with co-founder Ray Muzyka) with the Academy's Hall of Fame award.
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.