Dragon Age Series Not Dead, Says Ex-BioWare Dev: 'It's Yours Now'

Following significant layoffs at BioWare, which led to the departure of many key developers behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard, former series writer Sheryl Chee has stepped forward to reassure fans. Amidst the turmoil, Chee, who has transitioned to work on Iron Man at Motive, shared a message of hope: "DA isn't dead because it's yours now."

This week, EA announced a restructuring of BioWare to concentrate solely on Mass Effect 5. As a result, some developers from Dragon Age: The Veilguard were reassigned to other EA projects, such as John Epler, the game's creative director, who joined Full Circle's upcoming skateboarding game, Skate. However, many others were laid off and are now seeking new opportunities.

The decision came after EA revealed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had not met the company's expectations, engaging only 1.5 million players during the recent financial quarter—a figure nearly 50% below projections. It's important to note that EA did not specify whether this number represented unit sales, as the game was also available through EA's Play Pro subscription service. Additionally, it remains unclear if the 1.5 million count included players who tried the game via the free trial offered through the more affordable EA Play subscription.

The combination of EA's announcement, the restructuring of BioWare, and the layoffs has led to widespread concern among Dragon Age fans that the series may be nearing its end. There are no plans for DLC for The Veilguard, and BioWare's work on the game concluded with its last major update last week.

Despite these developments, Sheryl Chee took to social media to offer words of encouragement. Reflecting on her transition to Motive, she said, "It's been a hard two years seeing my team get chipped away and having to still keep going. But I'm still employed, so there's that." In response to a fan's lament about the series' demise, Chee emphasized the enduring spirit of the Dragon Age community: "So a cool French woman dropped a cool quote from Camus on me today: 'In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.' We're going through it right now. It's a lot, everywhere… But 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 further elaborated on the impact of the series, saying, "So someone just reposted my thing saying they'll write a giant AU and that's what I'm talking about. 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 began 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. In September, former executive producer Mark Darrah disclosed that Dragon Age: Inquisition had sold over 12 million copies, significantly surpassing EA's internal projections.

While EA has not officially declared the end of Dragon Age, the future of the series appears uncertain given BioWare's full focus on Mass Effect 5. EA has confirmed that a "core team" at BioWare, led by veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy, is working on the next installment. "While we're not sharing numbers, the studio has the right number of people in the right roles to work on Mass Effect at this stage of development," EA told IGN.