While the future of Dragon Age is currently unknown as EA and BioWare pursue other projects, David Gaider, the writer who helped bring the franchise to great heights, says he has an idea about what he would do with the series if it were handed back to him. Dragon Age has been in a strange spot since the release of 2024’s The Veilguard, with EA laying off a significant portion of BioWare following the game’s financial underperformance.
It has been two years since the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the future of the series doesn’t look very bright. The Veilguard was a significant financial miss for EA, with the company’s CEO blaming a lack of live-service features for its underperformance. Dragon Age: The Veilguard was notably the first game written without series veteran, David Gaider, and now the former writing lead at BioWare has gone on record to state what he would do with the franchise.
Dragon Age Creator Reveals What He’d Do With Dragon Age 5
In a recent interview with PC Gamer, former BioWare Lead Writer David Gaider states that he believes Dragon Age may very well be dead at EA, but if given the opportunity to return to the franchise, he would be open to the challenge. Gaider states that he would want to “go back to the basics of what made Dragon Age appeal to so many people in the first place, and go somewhere dark and dangerous, and do things that will make people upset.” The former BioWare lead believes he would return to breathe life back into the franchise, calling Dragon Age “his baby,” but doesn’t seem to have a positive outlook on its future, at least not under EA.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
During his tenure at BioWare, Gaider observed EA’s lack of faith in Dragon Age projects, which consistently outperformed the publisher’s expectations, and felt like the company didn’t understand the series’ appeal. Gaider recalls comments from EA in the lead-up to a release, saying that the publisher had to “put lipstick on a pig in order to sell it,” which made Dragon Age feel like a second-rate game compared to Mass Effect. However, Gaider holds no ill will toward Mass Effect, calling it a great RPG.
As the Lead Writer of Dragon Age: Origins and every sequel up to Inquisition, David Gaider says he has no intention of ever playing The Veilguard because of his deep involvement in the franchise’s creation. In 2015, Gaider stepped aside as the lead Dragon Age writer after Inquisition to let new voices and stories in the series be heard, but today claims that he “selfishly” doesn’t want to see any changes made to his baby, good or bad. What’s more, Gaider says he doesn’t want to play it because he knows too much about what “goes on behind the scenes” and feels EA handicapped the team from the start.
Right now, David Gaider is onto other projects at Summerfall Studios, which he cofounded following his departure from BioWare after Anthem‘s release. The team at Summerfall is currently working on a heist RPG that Gaider says makes him smile, but it seems the studio is having trouble securing funding at the moment. Whether Summerfall can secure funding and complete its game, or Gaider finds himself working on Dragon Age once again, remains to be seen.
- Released
-
October 31, 2024
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Publisher(s)
-
Electronic Arts
