Dragon Age: Beloved Franchise Assured to Live On

Following layoffs at BioWare impacting key Dragon Age: The Veilguard developers, a former writer offered reassurance to fans, stating, "DA isn't dead because it's yours now."

This week's EA restructuring prioritized Mass Effect 5, reassigning some Dragon Age: The Veilguard staff to other EA studios (Game Developer reported Veilguard's creative director, John Epler, joined Full Circle's Skate project). However, other team members faced layoffs.

This followed EA's announcement of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's underperformance, falling nearly 50% short of projected player engagement. EA reported 1.5 million engaged players during the recent financial quarter, but didn't specify if this represented unit sales (considering the game's availability through EA Play Pro and a free trial via EA Play).

The combination of EA's announcement, BioWare's restructuring, and confirmed layoffs fueled concerns within the Dragon Age community about the franchise's future. The Veilguard has no planned DLC, and BioWare's work concluded last week with what appeared to be its final major update.

However, Sheryl Chee, a senior writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard who transitioned to Motive Studio's Iron Man project, shared a message of hope on social media. Acknowledging the challenging two years and team attrition, she emphasized her continued employment and then, responding to fan concerns, declared the franchise's future rests with its dedicated fanbase.

Chee quoted Camus: “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” She highlighted fan fiction, artwork, and community connections fostered by the games as evidence of the franchise's enduring spirit. She emphasized that while EA/BioWare owns the IP, the core ideas and inspiration belong to the players. She concluded that fan creations, inspired by the Dragon Age universe, demonstrate the franchise's lasting impact.

The Dragon Age series began with 2010's Dragon Age: Origins, followed by Dragon Age 2 (2011) and Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014). The latest installment, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, arrived a decade later. In September, former executive producer Mark Darrah revealed Dragon Age: Inquisition's sales significantly exceeded EA's internal projections, exceeding 12 million copies.

While EA hasn't officially declared Dragon Age dead, the future of the series remains uncertain given BioWare's restructuring and complete focus on Mass Effect 5. EA confirmed a dedicated team at BioWare is developing Mass Effect 5, led by veterans of the original trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others. EA stated the studio is appropriately staffed for Mass Effect's current development stage, without disclosing specific numbers.