Wizards of the Coast, publisher of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, has announced the launch of a new game studio dedicated to story-driven RPGs. The studio will also be headed by a man of considerable pedigree.

The current number of employees at Archetype Entertainment is unknown, but two big names are James Ohlen and Chad Robertson, both of whom previously worked at BioWare.

Ohlen, hired by Wizards of the Coast last April, served as lead designer and creative director on some of BioWare's greatest games: "Baldur's Gate," "Baldur's Gate 2," "Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon Age: Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins, and Dragon Age: The Last Airbender. Dragon Age: Origins, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. He also worked on "Anthem," but no one is 100 percent perfect. He will be the studio head of Archetype.

Robertson, who has been named general manager, is known primarily as the head of live services for "Anthem," but previously worked on "Star Wars: The Old Republic. He left Bioware Austin last November, but prior to that he was the main point of contact between the community and Bioware, providing updates on attempts to fix the game after its disastrous launch.

Interestingly, Archetype Entertainment is not starting with a game based on the two major Wizards of the Coast properties. Instead, it is working on a "story-driven" "multi-platform role-playing game set in a new science fiction world. Oren's experience with the "The Old Republic" series definitely gives him the ability to create new sci-fi worlds.

Wizards of the Coast has recently focused on video games. Between the Archetype Entertainment project, the recent release of Magic the Gathering, Arena: Arena, and the upcoming Baldur's Gate 3 from Larian, it will be worth watching how the publisher develops over the next few years.