The sequel to the beloved RPG, Dragon Age Inquisition, is falling flat in sales due to some easily avoidable issues. BioWare goes on the defensive, justifying their choices. Let’s take a brief look at the situation.
October 31st, 2024 brought the release of the heavily anticipated sequel to Dragon Age Inquisition. A critically acclaimed RPG action game that left its community begging for a sequel. With modern advances in technology, the gaming community couldn’t wait to see what BioWare could bring to this praised franchise.
Backstory
The development of Dragon Age 4, initially code-named “Joplin,” began in 2015 under creative director Mike Laidlaw with the aim of creating a smaller, narrative-focused game set in the Tevinter Imperium. However, the project faced numerous setbacks due to interruptions from BioWare’s work on Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem. Development was put on hold in late 2016 and resumed in 2017, but in October 2017, EA and BioWare canceled Joplin because it lacked a live-service component for monetization.
In 2018, development restarted under the code-name “Morrison” with plans for a live-service model, utilizing Anthem’s code. However, following the success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the failure of Anthem’s multiplayer rework in 2021, EA and BioWare shifted Morrison to a single-player experience. A 2023 leak revealed that the game would feature real-time action combat, inspired by God of War, marking a departure from the series’ traditional gameplay style.
Staff changes
Massive turnover has likely deeply affected the development of the game to what we have now.
The development has been seemingly deeply affected by significant turnover in key staff. After the cancellation of Joplin in 2017, several veteran staff, including Mike Laidlaw, left BioWare. Mark Darrah remained as executive producer after the 2018 reboot but resigned in December 2020, replaced by Christian Dailey. Matthew Goldman, who served as creative director from 2017 to 2021, also left in November 2021, with John Epler taking over the role. Dailey left BioWare in early 2022, and new leadership was brought in with Corinne Busche as game director and other new positions filled by Benoit Houle and Mac Walters, who left in January 2023.
In March 2023, Darrah returned as a consultant, and Mass Effect team members joined the project. However, in August 2023, BioWare laid off 50 employees working on Veilguard (the working title for Dragon Age 4), including Mary Kirby, a longtime writer for the series. The layoffs led to lawsuits in October 2023, with former staff seeking additional compensation for work they were unable to include in their portfolios due to NDAs. The studio’s leadership and staffing changes have contributed to an entirely unique team from the one behind the earlier Dragon Age successes.
Marketing
Marketing debacle
Dragon Age 4 was officially revealed at The Game Awards in December 2018, with early promotional materials teasing the central role of Solas (the Dread Wolf) and the corrupted magic source known as red lyrium. The tagline “The Dread Wolf Rises” created a sense of mystery around the game’s plot. In 2020, BioWare released a concept art video at Gamescom, followed by a teaser trailer in December, narrated by the dwarven character Varric Tethras and featuring Solas, though details about the game’s development remained scarce. At the 2021 EA Play event, no major updates were shared, leading industry observers to speculate that full-scale marketing would not begin until 2022.
In June 2022, BioWare officially revealed the game’s title as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, confirming Solas as the primary antagonist and signaling a direct continuation of the story from previous titles. A teaser trailer in December 2023 showed off new locations, including Antiva, Rivain, and the Anderfels, fueling excitement among fans. However, in June 2024, the game was rebranded as Dragon Age: The Veilguard. BioWare explained that the title change better captured the game’s focus on the companions who would play a central role in the narrative, though Solas, the Dread Wolf, would still be integral to the story. The shift was described as a creative decision rather than a response to focus testing.
The new title received mixed reactions: some fans expressed disappointment, preferring the dramatic flair of Dreadwolf, while others felt Veilguard reflected the game’s deeper emphasis on character relationships. Critics were also divided, with some praising the new direction and others feeling the change didn’t match the tone of the series. The 2024 companion-focused trailer drew criticism for making the characters appear more suited for a battle pass than a traditional Dragon Age adventure, with some comparing it to an Ocean’s Eleven style.
Despite the marketing backlash, those who attended the 2024 Summer Game Fest and experienced a hands-off gameplay demo were generally more positive. Many felt the companion trailer didn’t do the game justice, with some noting that the gameplay itself seemed promising, especially with enhanced character customization options. Although there remained concerns about the game’s troubled development cycle, there was cautious optimism that BioWare could still deliver a strong RPG experience, with many hoping the final product would live up to the legacy of the Dragon Age series.
The Issue
BioWare is facing backlash for the in-your-face social justice lecturing the game has littered throughout. From random dialogue as you are wandering the world. To multiple choice dialogue where, regardless of what you pick, you are following the transgender ideation.
Stats for the game on steam look like this. It has peaked at 89,418 five days ago as of writing this. With the number now hovering around 50,000 at a 24-hour peak. This doesn’t compare to other games with absolutely massive launches.
Here are but a few examples of the dialogue that is throughout the game.
Developers, if they want to be successful in the industry, should take note of the gaming industry, movie industry and their performances. The community has been pretty clear about their stance on these social topics flooding their way into games. In DA: Veilguard it is all forced. Not following any story, just an on the nose type of experience where the developers seemed to have been seeking some social credit points from a community that is few and far between statistically in the gaming community.
Other games that featured Transgender characters to a much more receivable degree was Hogwarts Legacy. Where the only knowledge the players likely knew of the character being trans would have been the voice. There was no dialogue or introductions like “Hey I’m trans, use these words”. It was simple. And much more palatable than the ridiculous dialogue we are seeing in DA: Veilguard.
Will this sort of content continue to make its way into every major game release? Seems to be the case. It lacks financial incentives, but studios seem to keep doing it. DA: Veilguard seems to be the most egregious example of this type of ‘content’.
UPDATE1
Endymion reports from a source that the game has had at least 30,000 refunds. Not good when your game has only sold half a million copies.
