In an era where online multiplayer games can barely go a few weeks before shutting down, it’s staggering to think of a largely single player experience sundowning its servers after 12 years. But such is the case for Dragon Age: Inquisition. Originally released in 2014, EA has announced the PS3 servers for the game will be shutting down on April 28th, ending its multiplayer features.
Inquisition was the third game in the mainline Dragon Age series but the first to introduce multiplayer features, opening up the solo series to co-operative campaigns with friends. Inquisition was critically acclaimed and sold extremely well, remaining one of Bioware’s strongest works. The same cannot be said of Bioware’s live-service exploits since then.
Anthem, Bioware’s more ambitious open world multiplayer game, failed to draw players away from Destiny or No Man’s Sky. A fumble, the 2019 game ended support only two years later, with its servers shutting down earlier this year. The latest Dragon Age, Veilguard, would have likely been a live-service experience as well had Anthem performed better. While kindly received by critics and selling well at launch, The Veilguard’s long-term prospects failed to meet EA’s expectations. Layoffs at Bioware followed shortly after.
Now that gaming is defined by not which games are good but which games survive, it’s nostalgic to see off Inquisition on more graceful terms. Highguard couldn’t cut it for more than two months and Concord was snuffed out after just two weeks, the biggest bomb in PlayStation history. Meanwhile, Dragon Age: Inquisition left their door open for over a decade and the PSN has been ringing out orders for 20 years. The only tragedy is how it illustrates how shortsighted on current industry can be, chasing short term thrills at the cost of longterm potential. EA hasn’t clarified if the decision is the result of their layoffs or effects it’ll have on the Dragon Age Keep community portal.