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Dragon Age Franchise Largely Sidelined at EA, Former Producer Says

Mark Darrah says EA’s greenlighting culture, weak sales for The Veilguard, BioWare’s move to Mass Effect and a pending investor takeover have frozen plans for another entry.

Overview

  • Mark Darrah, a long-time BioWare producer, said Monday he does not see another Dragon Age game being greenlit at EA in the near term because he cannot identify who would successfully pitch it.
  • The most recent entry, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, failed to meet EA’s sales expectations after its 2024 release, and that commercial shortfall is cited as a key reason the franchise has been deprioritized.
  • EA reduced BioWare’s staffing in early 2025 and reassigned employees, and BioWare is now focused on developing the next Mass Effect title rather than a new Dragon Age.
  • Darrah described an internal gatekeeping culture at EA where multiple stakeholders can block outside pitches, and he said a Champion’s Edition remaster is unlikely because few developers now understand the original Aurora engine.
  • A proposed investor buyout led by Saudi-linked firms adds further uncertainty over EA’s priorities, which could leave lower-performing narrative RPGs like Dragon Age dormant and affect fans and the studio’s remaining creators.