Between Baldur’s Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, and Dragon Age, writer David Gaider has certainly had a storied career; however, his next project at Summerfall Studios may be a make-or-break moment for the studio if it can’t secure funding. Dragon Age itself has been put on the back burner by EA after the underwhelming release of The Veilguard in 2024, being the first game in the series written without Gaider.
Founded by David Gaider and Liam Esler in 2017, Summerfall Studios has already released a couple of smaller projects. Gaider’s first game following his exit after releasing the now-defunct Anthem was Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical in 2023, published by Balor Games, followed by Malys, a roguelike deckbuilder in 2025, which Summerfall Studios elected to release on its own. Both games were moderate successes for indie games at this scale, but now it seems Gaider is looking for something bigger with his next project.
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In a recent interview with PC Gamer, David Gaider went into detail about what fans can expect from Summerfall Studio’s upcoming RPG, stating that “you play a crew of rogues in an airship that go around performing heists,” and describing it as “not full-on comedy, but something that could make me smile.” Later on, however, Gadier plainly states that it has been tough for the studio to find a publisher to fund the game. As of now, Summerfall has completed a few prototypes for the RPG, but any publishers that have shown interest in the project would like the game to be at least 80% done before deciding to fund it, making it a tough balance between what the studio can and can’t make without proper funding. Gaiden describes the studio’s hunt for funding as a “make or break” situation, alluding to the studio possibly closing if a publisher isn’t secured.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
Throughout the interview, Gadier notes that much of what is happening with Summerfall is the result of the industry shrinking significantly over the last three years. Because game development is such a risky venture, publishers at this point don’t want to back any video game until they know it’s a safe bet and the game will be completed and released. And it’s not just small studios like Gaider’s Summerfall Studios that have been impacted; Life is Strange‘s development studio has warned that its funding will run out by November 2026 and is seeking relief.
Should Summerfall fail to secure funding and have to close, Gaider is unsure which direction he will take, given the state of the industry. The writer remains uncertain whether he will even find a spot at another studio, given how saturated and competitive the market is, following thousands of layoffs at major publishers like Xbox and Sony each year. Hopefully, Gaider can find a new home if his heist RPG goes awry, and it seems he might be open to returning to AAA game development if that happens.
When asked about coming back to Dragon Age, Gaider’s response shifted from a hard no to a willingness to take on the challenge, even with plans for what to do with it. Although it may be the end of Dragon Age for now, as BioWare shifts to Mass Effect after its own layoffs, Gaider states that if he were handed the franchise again, he would want to take it back to basics, go somewhere “dark and dangerous,” with it, and “do things that will make people upset.” Should Summerfall’s heist RPG secure funding, fans may soon see what Gaider’s not-a-comedy RPG is all about, but maybe in the future, he could be at the helm of the cult-classic Dragon Age once more.
