In the wake of significant layoffs at BioWare, which saw the departure of numerous key developers behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a former writer on the series, Sheryl Chee, has reached out to reassure fans. Amid concerns that the franchise might be nearing its end, Chee's message is one of resilience and community: "DA isn't dead because it's yours now."
This week, Electronic Arts (EA) restructured BioWare to shift its focus exclusively to Mass Effect 5. As a result, some developers who worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard were reassigned to other projects within EA's studios. For instance, John Epler, the creative director for Veilguard, has transitioned to work on Full Circle's upcoming skateboarding game, Skate. However, others faced layoffs and are now in the job market seeking new opportunities.
The restructuring comes on the heels of EA's announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard did not meet the company's expectations, engaging only 1.5 million players during the recent financial quarter—a number that fell short of EA's projections by nearly 50%. It's important to note that EA did not specify whether this figure represented unit sales, as Veilguard was also accessible through EA's Play Pro subscription service. Additionally, the count might have included players who tried the game via a free trial offered through the more affordable EA Play subscription.
The combination of EA's announcement, the studio's restructuring, and the layoffs has led to a prevailing sentiment among the Dragon Age community that the series may be on life support. There are no plans for DLC for The Veilguard, and BioWare's work on the game concluded with its final major update last week.
Despite the grim outlook, Sheryl Chee, who has moved to work on Iron Man at Motive Studio, took to social media to offer a message of hope. Reflecting on the challenging two years and the gradual reduction of her team, Chee remains positive about her current employment status. In response to a fan's lament about the apparent death of Dragon Age, Chee emphasized the enduring power of the community: "DA isn't dead. There's fic. There's art. There's the connections we made through the games and because of the games. Technically EA/BioWare owns the IP but you can't own an idea, no matter how much they want to. DA isn't dead because it's yours now."
Chee's sentiment was further reinforced when a fan shared plans to create a giant alternate universe story inspired by Dragon Age. Chee celebrated this, saying, "If DA has inspired you to do something, if it sparks that Invincible summer, then it's done its job, and it has been my greatest honor to have been a part of that."
The Dragon Age series started with Dragon Age: Origins in 2010, followed by Dragon Age 2 in 2011, and Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014. The latest installment, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, took a decade to release. Former executive producer Mark Darrah, who left BioWare in 2020, revealed that Dragon Age: Inquisition sold over 12 million copies, significantly surpassing EA's internal projections.
Although EA has not declared the Dragon Age series officially dead, the future of new titles seems uncertain, especially with BioWare's full attention now on Mass Effect 5. EA has confirmed that a "core team" at BioWare, led by veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy, is currently developing the next game in that series. While specific numbers haven't been disclosed, EA assures that the team is appropriately staffed for this stage of development.
