?Even if recent history might fool you into disagreeing, BioWare is one of the greatest RPG-makers in the video game scene. For a very long time, nobody did better than BioWare, and only time will tell whether the company is currently in the process of regaining its mojo.

Let's look at the studio's best games, best attempts, and biggest missed opportunities, and find out where the recently-released Dragon Age: The Veilguard lands in the midst of it all, shall we?

17. Mass Effect: Andromeda

We all know this couldn't be anywhere else. While I don't doubt Andromeda looked good on paper, at some point, at least, the end? result felt no better than an actual paper cut. Bland plot, unmemorable characters, sometimes downright terrible writing, and that's when you weren't prevented from experiencing those things by some wacky game-breaking bug.

Executive meddling made Andromeda the poster boy of mismanagement in games.

If there's one thing Andromeda really had going for it, it was the looks. Andromeda really did produce alien vistas capable of absolutely taking your breath away �so long as your character didn't clip throug?h the ground and fall into an endless voi??d.

16. Mass Effect 3

I'm going to start of??f by saying something nice as to avoid too harsh of a reaction from fans: Mass Effect 3 has great gameplay and ran fantastically well even on my old Xbox 360.

With that out of the way, I was always bummed at how people complained so much about the ending of Mass Effect 3 - because they should've complained about?? the whole game. Sure, the gameplay was good, but we're talking about BioWare, a comp??any known for proving games can be so much more than cool pew-pew action.

The plot is just rubbish, likely courtesy of having one of the co-main writers leaving as a response to the studio becoming "too corporate" to fulfill the original vision. The dialogue, the missions, and the entire culmination of the fantastic setup done by the stellar two previous games in the series all went out of the window for inexplicable reasons. You'll never play the game Mass Effect 3 as it should have been, but you might always learn what it could've played out like.

15. Anthem

After the massive failure of Andromeda, Anthem's reveal re-ignited the hopes of a comeback for BioWare. The studio had previously wowed everyone with Mass Effect, so they could totally come up with yet another incredible Sci-Fi IP. The first previews got everyone hyped as Anthem looked gorgeous, but it was all downhill from there. Anthem turned out to be ve??ry repetitive, not all that much fun, and surprisingly empty and light on story �a deadly sin when i??t comes to a BioWare game.

Anthem wasn't as bad as Andromeda, ??and it wasn't as much of a let ??down because it was the first game in its series, but we all wanted it to be so much more than it turned out to be.

14. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Yes, feel free to confirm for yourself, BioWare did make a Sonic game for the Nintendo DS. It's an RPG, a type of game where you naturally can't make great use of Sonic's ability to go fast. That, by itself, feels like a hindrance, but I know damn well the good people at BioWare had the capacity to come up with alternative mechanics to make this work, but Sonic Chronicles is n??o more than a bland RPG wearing the face of a popular character.

The most memorable aspect of Sonic Chronicles is Central City, the incredibly awful song you can? hurt yourself with above.

13. Dragon Age 2

The most divisive title in the Dragon Age series, or at least the one most deserving of that distinction. After the massive commercial and critical success of Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2 disappointed players by introducing repetitive combat, removing customization options, reusing the same areas again and again, and limiting the scope of the adventure to a very small patch of land. Everything about Dragon Age 2 felt inexplicably rushed.

Dragon Age 2 isn't terribl?e, but it's one of the most disappointing sequels in relatively recent ??history.

12. Shattered Steel

Few are aware of it, but BioWare began life with a badass mech game. Shattered Steel's action-oriented robot gameplay is the opposite of what you'd expect from a company famous for its talkative and lore-heavy RPGs, but Shattered Steel wasn't bad at all.

Unfortunately, Shattered Steel didn't age all that well, and, without an HD remaster in sight, it's hard to recommend right now. Still, Shattered Steel remains a very curious artifact.

11. Star Wars: The Old Republic

You ought to commend BioWare for challenging World Of Warcraft during the later years of its prime, but The Old Republic proved little more than a courageous attempt.

While it didn't feature any terrible glitches �besides the dance emote that made you invincible, of course �the gameplay amounted to a grindier version of Knights Of The Old Republic. The story didn't fare much better, as it went down such an uninspired route that the game at some point opted for a soft lore rebo??ot �that also didn't result in anything particularly memorable.

10. MDK2

Though the MDK series (short for Murder Death Kill, some say) didn't begin its life via the?? hands of BioWare, they certainly improved ??it.

Shiny's peculiar and very original '90s shooter got even better on the PS2, and felt even ?more complete with the addition of a few m??ore equally-quirky characters to our team. This series has been dead for too long, so maybe it's time BioWare picks it back up for a well-deserved refresher.

9. Dragon Age Inquisition

If you ignore the massive tone-deafness of naming the hero's job after one of the vilest institutions in the history of humankind, Inquisition is a pretty good game.

Inquisition fixed the most annoying and disappointing elements of Dragon Age 2's maps, and provided a great early showcase for the power of the 8th generation of consoles. Inquisition was a step in the right direction for the series, and it's also responsible for one of the most hilarious ripoff-related blunders in Hollywood's recent history

8. Dragon Age: The Veilguard

A lot has been said about Dragon Age:The Veilguard, and I'm pretty sure a lot is still to be said. It's one of those games to get caught in the vortex of the grifter sphere, meaning that all matter of relevant criticism will likely be drowned in a sea of complaints about vapid crap that YouTubers have carefully engineered to generate outrage-fueled cli??ps.

The truth about Veilguard is that it plays great, features awesome new combat mechanics, and a cool new cast of characters. I definitely don't like the weird mid-series shift into a more cutesy art style, but, even then, I must admit that it doesn't look all that bad. The only thing that really bummed me about this one is the dialogue, which as a whole, is among the most uninspired in the history of BioWare games. Then again, it's going up against some of the all-time greats??, so there's that.

7. Jade Empire

BioWare's attempt at a more action-y RPG was a huge success. The seldom-explored Chinese Mythology s??et??ting, the gameplay, and the engaging tale of revenge make this one of BioWare's best games to date.

Sadly, Jade Empire gets overlooked among BioWare's greats, likely because it spent too long as an original Xbox exclusive. That time is past, though, so you have no excuse not to give it a shot, especially if you're into Dragon Age: The Veilguard's modernized combat style.

6. Baldur’s Gate and Baldur's Gate 2

Many of the people comparing The Veilguard negatively to Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 might be unaware that Baldur's Gate o??nly even exists because BioWare brought it to life.

Yes, both Baldur's Gate 1 and Baldur's Gate 2 were BioWare titles, and also the games that put the studio on the map. If you're into Baldur's Gate 3, you'll still find a lot to love about BioWare's first big classic. Some of its gameplay elements are dated, sure, though not any more dated than a nice D&D session, and you can totally get the more modernized Enhanced Editions of both BG1 and BG2, so consider giving it a shot!

5. Neverwinter Nights

For the longest ti??me, BioWare made great use of the D&D gameplay mechanics to create fantastic video game experiences. Still, most of BioWare's best games don't take place in the actual D&D setting.

If you're looking for a game in the style of Baldur's Gate, a game filled with the modernity seen in later titles like Knights Of The Old Republic, but still in the D&D setting, then you should absolutely give the original Neverwinter Nights a try, as it's the game you can easily bla??me for unleashing BioWare'??s golden age.

4. Dragon Age: Origins

Though it's titled as if it were the tired prequel a studio would make after the main plot of a once-successful series goes too far off the rails, Dragon Age: Origins remains the best and the most endearing Dragon Age game to date.

You'd think that just making Knights Of The Old Republic in a medieval setting with dragons wouldn't be enough to make one of the most beloved games of all time, bu??t you'd be wrong. That's because solid gameplay, good art direction, and interesting characters are more than enough to create something special when you already have a great foundation.

3. Mass Effect 2

The first Mass Effect sequel brought in a more interesting cast and did a great job of telling a more emotional tale via some of, if not the best, writing in BioWare history. It also came out in a very playable state, which is only true for 50% of the games with Mass Effect in their title.

Mass Effect 2 proved a step up over its predecessor in all the ways you'd expect out of a BioWare sequel. Still, in a possibly unpopular opinion, I believe it failed to reach the heights of the original by featuring a less epic plot. I believe it also suffers from having gone with ??a more streamlined mission-based structure that hurts the immersion and the feeling of freedom we got from the original. Still, these should be seen as no more than nitpicks aimed at an all-time c??lassic.

2. Knights Of The Old Republic

You'd be hard-pressed to find three games based on a popular movie IP that don't suck, let alone three spectacular ones. KOTOR counts as those three, as it perfectly merges BioWare's excellent D&D combat with one of the best cast of characters and plot ever seen in the Star Wars universe.

If you've grown tired of Star Wars and of modern Star Wars discourse, then you should probably kick back and give Knights of The Old Republic a shot. It's ov??er 20 years old now, but, true to the original trilogy, remains as engrossing as e?ver.

1. Mass Effect

Ok, this one comes with a very important disclaimer. I do not, in any way, believe the original Xbox 360 exclusive version of Mass Effect to be BioWare's greatest game. I loved all the promise on display, but the original Mass Effect was a very rough diamond due to its interminable load times and poor performance issues. The honor of? being BioWare's best title belongs to th??e much improved-upon version that came out on PC.

Mass Effect, though heavily inspired by other great works of Sci-Fi, never failed to feel like its own thing. It also features the quality characters, plot, and writing you'd expect from a BioWare endeavor. And, after finally being optimized, felt fantastic to play, courtesy of all the new and inspired gameplay mechanics worthy of a groundbreaking work of Science Fiction. Mass Effect isn't just an RPG, a shooter, a spicy alien dating sim, or even a fun driving and exploration game. It's an? experience way cooler than actual space exploration can ever hope to be.

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With Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a fresh wave of new players ia headed to the Dragon Age universe. There are hundreds o?f hours of lore to explore and quite a few previous games that you can play through, but figuring out the order can be troublesome. 

There are a total of nine games, including spin-offs, set in the world of Dragon Age. While it’s not strictly necessary to play? all of them, it can be useful if you want to immerse yourself in the lore. 

Before getting into the games that you can actually still play, here are a few honorable mentions for Dragon Age games that have been lost to the aether:

• Dragon Age Journeys (2009)

  • A Flash-based web browser game that was sadly canceled after the release of the first chapter.

• Dragon Age Legends (2011)

  • A Facebook game that remained playable for roughly a year before being taken offline. For a time, an offline version was available to download, but this no longer seems to be the case.

• Heroes of Dragon Age (2013)

  • A free-to-play mobile game that remained online for a decade before servers were disconnected on January 23, 2024.

• Dragon Age: The Last Court (2014)

  • A free-to-play browser game set between the events of Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition. It remained online until November 17, 2020. 

All Dragon Age games in order

Dragon Age: Origins (2009)

Dragon Age: Origins was first released on Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, with the release for Mac OS X coming roughly a month afterward. This was the first dive into Ferelden and gave players the choice between not only classes (Warrior, Mage, or Rogue) but also their genetic background (Elven, Human, or Dwarven). The ad??venture revolved around being recruited in??to the Grey Wardens to take down the threat that is the Darkspawn. 

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (2010)

Technically, Awakening was the expansion for Dragon Age: Origins, which added a whole new campaign that took place after the event ??of the original game and was available on all of the same platforms. If you want to purchase Dragon Age: Origins now, you'll likely only find the Ultimate Edition, which includes all of Awakening's content as part of your purchase.

Dragon Age II (2011)

The first proper sequel to the original, Dragon Age II came two years later in 2011. This time, players were thrust into the role of Hawke, who was always a human but had the choice of being a Warrior, Mage, or Rogue once more. Hawke, accompanied by various companions who felt differently about them depending on their choices, strove to become Champion of Kirk??wall amid the chaos of conflict. 

Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)

In Dragon Age: Inquisition, players were thrust into the role of the Inquisitor, ??and they had all of the previous choices, along with a chance to play as the newly added “Qunari�race. After surviving a devastating event that left a Breach in the sky, releasing a whole bunch of demons into the world, the Inquisitor is deemed by some to be the “chos??en one�thanks to a mark on his hand and must battle to stop Corypheus and close the Breach.  

Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024)

The latest in the line of Dragon Age games comes a whole decade after Inquisition. Although I haven’t quite gotten around to playing through the story in the hours since I woke up this morning, I do know that The Veilguard takes pl?ace approximately 10 years after the events of the previous games and c??enters around a character known as Rook, who must take down Solas before he can complete his ritual to tear down the Veil.

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With Dragon Age: The Veilguard just around the corner, now might be the time to revisit the world of Thedas and brush u?p on the ancient lore of the Chantry and the old gods that preceded it.

If there's one thing BioWare always does in the superlative, it's worldbuilding. The world of Dragon Age, while certainly inspired by many fantasy works that came before it (including Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time—especially the latter) is sprawling with riveting stories, compelling characters, and a fantastic history going thousand??s of years back.

Dragon Age has also branched out into other mediums over the years, comprising not only three amazing games ??with dozens of hours of c??ontent, but also several books, more than ten comic series, a few tabletop games, and recently, an anime adaptation on Netflix.

But as we know, the beating heart of every great fantasy universe is in its books. Even Dragon Age, originally conceived as a video game series and despite taking full advantage of RPG elements to world-build, can't help but fall under the same enchantment. If you want lore and details, you'll have to inevitably approach the Dragon Age books and comics, and since most of them have been writ??ten by BioWare's own writers who also worked on the games, they are must-reads for ardent fans of Thedas.

Barring the two-volume World of Thedas, which is little more than a companion encyclopedia with entries detailing different characters, factions, countries, and events, here is every Dragon Age book and comic ranked worst to best.

All Dragon Age Books

There have been seven major books in the Dragon Age series, all of them canon. Some expand on the lore already established in the games, and some give fans much-needed context on the inner workings of Thedas and what goes on behind the scenes in this politically-charged high fantasy world. Here w?e’ve ranked them from worst to best based on significance, the quality of the narrative, and the overall community reception.

7. Dragon Age: Hard in Hightown

We all know that Varric is an accomplished and best-selling author renowned across Thedas, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to read a book penned by him? Hard in Hightown expands on the character’s noir detective story found in the Dragon Age: Inquisition codex entries, and BioWare has also marketed the book as being written by Varric himself. The other contributing author is Mary Kirby, who worked in the studio from 2006 to 2023 and is credited for her writing chops in all four Dragon Age games, including the upcoming Veilguard.

6. Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne

The first novel by David Gaider as well as the first Dragon Age book, The Stolen Throne takes place before the events of Origins in the country of Ferelden. We follow the tale of the rebel queen Moira, who has just been assassinated through a plot orchestrated by the nobles in her court. Her son Maric escapes unharmed, and now with Ferelden under occupation by the Orlesian Empire, Maric has to fight for the revival of his nation with the help of Loghain, whom fans will recognize as one of the main characters in Origins. If you always found Loghain intriguing and were desperate to learn more about his past and motives, then The Stolen Throne is a must-read, even if it’s not exactly the best Dragon Age book out there.

5. Dragon Age: The Calling

Taking place eleven years after the events of The Stolen Throne, this is David Gaider’s second literary outing in the Dragon Age universe. The story chiefly revolves around the Grey Wardens, who had been exiled from Ferelden for 200 years, before King Maric revoked that ban and welcomed them back. The Grey Wardens come to the king’s court with dire news, however, of one of their rank escaping into the Deep Roads and aligning himself with the Darkspawn. The Grey Wardens ask the king to lead them through?? the Deep Roads, which he traversed years before, to save the kingdom from peril, little realizing the dangers that lurk in these uncharted dwarven territories.

4. Dragon Age: Asunder

The Mage-Templar War is one of the defining conflicts in the entire Dragon Age chronology, and it is explored in depth in Dragon Age: Asunder by David Gaider. This is arguably the author’s best novel in the series, and his nuanced storytelling, whether it be compelling character arcs or even a deft hand at weaving political intrigue together, shines in Asunder. Other than explaining in detail why the Seekers of Truth and the Circle of Magi broke off from the Chantry, the story also features Wynne, who is one of the fanbase’s favorite companions in Origins.

3. Dragon Age: Last Flight

Last Flight by Liane Merciel is arguably one of the best stories in the multi-media Dragon Age franchise. The narrative once again brings the Grey Wardens to the forefront. After the events of Origins, this ancient group of warriors are once again being hailed as heroes across Thedas. The Darkspawn has been driven underground and the threat of extinction has been snuffed out. Not all is well in the continent, however. A young elven mage named? Valya, who has recently been recruited into the organization, is tasked with studying historical records to gain insight into previous Blights, research that leads her to question what she knows about the so-called heroic Grey Wardens and learn the truth about the fate of griffons.

2. Dragon Age: The Masked Empire

Trick Weekes wrote for the three Mass Effect games as well as Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and the forthcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The Masked Empire is a tie-in novelization for Dragon Age: Inquisition released in April 2014, and it deals with the Orlesian Civil War. The events of the novel paint a starkly different picture of Orlesian politics for fans, and many of you might end up regretting the decisions you made during Inquisition, or replaying the game so that you can change it. Some of the characters in The Masked Empire include Briala, Celene Empress of Orlais, Felassa??n, Gaspard de Chalons, and our own bard-turned-spymaster Leliana.

1. Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights

Tevinter Nights is an anthology series written by nine different BioWare staff writers, and some fans already consider it to be a tie-in to Dragon Age: The Veilguard. You’ll find many familiar faces in the course of reading this novel, which consists of fifteen short stories mostly set in the Tevinter Imperium, as well as other areas like Nevarra, Rivain, the Anderfels, Orlais, and the Free Marches. The novel also goes into events such as the Qunari invasion and Solas�defection from the Inquisition. If you don’t want to bother with the rest of the Dragon Age books before The Veilguard, Tevinter Nights can thrust you back into the political and historical landscape of Thedas before the fourth main entry comes along.

All Dragon Age Comics

Dragon Age has maintained a steady and prominent line of comic strips since the release of Origins in 2009. Some might even argue that because Dragon Age is a video game, comics ??are an even more congruent medium for expansion. There are close to a dozen comic book series in Thedas, and we’ve ranked them all in this list. Here are which publications you should prioritize before October 3??1.

8. Dragon Age: Until We Sleep

This three-issue comic series focuses on Varric and gives fans more insight into his past life. It is written by David Gaider and illustrated by Chad Hardin, featuring amazing artwork and a grim story that chooses BioWare’s own canon, meaning that in Until We Sleep’s timeline, Alistair is the king of Ferelden.

7. Dragon Age

There's something irresistibly charming about the first proper Dragon Age comic strip, which came out monthly in 2010 in six issues. The story expands on the lore already established in Origins, and deals with the inner workings of both the templar and mage orders in Thedas. The art style is very unique, perfectly fitting that dark aesthetic the franchise had going for itself back in the old days, even if there are also lore inc?onsistencies abound, something that eagle-eyed fans will no doubt pick up on with ease.

6. Dragon Age: Magekiller

Released in five issues from December 2015 to April 2016, Magekiller tells the story of Marius, the titular mage killer, and his handler Tessa Forsythia. It’s set during the events of Inquisition and centers around the rise of the Venatori cult. The art style is pretty neat, but for pacing issues as well as a shallow storyline, Magekiller often finds itself very low in the list of fan-favorite Dragon Age stories.

5. Dragon Age: Those Who Speak

Following the events of The Silent Grove, King Alistair continues to travel across Thedas to learn what happened to his father. On this journey, he's assisted by everyone's favorite pirate Isabela, and second-favorite novelist Varric Tethras. The jou??rney is wrought with danger, but nothing that the trio can't handle, especially when you realize that they've been through worse than a band of cultists hindering their way.

4. Dragon Age: Wraiths of Tevinter

This is actually a compilation of three Dragon Age comic series released in a single volume. It includes Deception, Blue Wraith, and Dark Fortress, all involving the Tevinter Imperium to one degree or another. In Deception, we follow a failed actress turned con artist who targets the heir of a wealthy family in Tevinter. The second and third series are more closely linked, with the former dealing with a Qunari plot against Tevinter and featuring Fenris, and the latter starring her as the main character as she's joined by a band of Inquisition agents to assault a seemingly impregnable fortress. All great short stories in the sprawling Dragon Age universe.

3. Dragon Age: The Silent Grove

The first Dragon Age comic series to be published by Dark Horse, and arguably one of the best even now, The Silent Grove depicts the Alistair, Varric, Isabela trio in another era-defining adventure. The party travels to Antiva City, and there they attempt to stage a prison break, getting swept up in a tale that ends up unveiling one of the darkest secrets in the history of Thedas. The Silent Grove was originally published in 2012 in six issues.

2. Dragon Age: Knight Errant

What is a Dragon Age story without the universe's meta storyteller around to shake things up? Knight Errant is the tale of an elven thief named Vaea, who arrives in Kirkwall just in time to witness the appointment of its latest viscount, Varric Tethras. The artwork in Knight Errant is very enthralling, and you'll find yourself drawn to look at the pages even if you're not a fan of the story itself. Still, there have been theories in the community circles about Knight Errant possibly tying into The Veilguard, so the title is worth pic??king up for that reason alon?e.

1. Dragon Age: The Missing

The Missing directly ties into The Veilguard and features Varric Tethras and Lace Harding (who is going to be a companion in the upcoming game) as they descend into the Deep Roads in pursuit of Solas. We already know Solas and his shenanigans are going to play a huge part in The Veilguard, and The Missing not only serves as a story that bridges the gap between this fourth entry and Inquisition, but also a perfect primer to get you into the mood for some Dragon Age in November.

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After ages of Bioware RPGs requiring the official EA App in some capacity, the studio has revealed the upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be a Steam game first and foremost.

On Twitter, the announcement explains that Veilguard will be Ste?am native, meaning it won't require EA's launcher at all. The game will also be Steam Deck verified right out of the gate.

Regardless of your thoughts on eith??er launcher, EA's simply isn't Steam �the storefront most people use for games �and thus just isn't as practical to use. Perhaps just as important as getting to play the next big Bioware game without touching EA's meddling middleware is how this move signals EA's possible willingness to make things easier going forward. Perhaps it was a tough decision for EA to make, but it's one that the gaming community at large is already celebrating.

The past few years have been immensely tough for the series and BioWare. The troubled development of Dragon Age's tentative fourth installment survived the departure of various developers, and we don't know how much of the Veilguard we're getting was part of the plan when the game was still called Dreadwolf. Luckily, this news, along with the recent unveiling of the game's stellar voice cast, seems to show Bioware and EA's determination to bring the franchise back to i?ts glory days.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard still ??has no release date, bu??t Bioware is aiming for a launch in Fall 2024.

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There were plenty of hype-worthy trailers to come out of the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9, such as the reveals for Doom: The Dark Ages and Gears of War: E-Day. One trailer that seems to have elicited almost nothing but complaints, however, was the reveal for BioWare's next Dragon Age game, now titled Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which has accrued? approximately 198,000 dislikes on YouTube compared to ??35,000 likes.

As for why fans have reacted so negatively to the reveal, it appears to stem from the trailer's tone. Despite Dragon Age being a dark fantasy series, this cinematic trailer is anything but dark, going for a more comical and humourous take on its rundown of Veilguard's cast of characters. It feels more like something you'd see in a Borderlands game or an announcement for a new hero shooter. I've personally not played any of the previous Dragon Age games,?? but even?? I can tell this tone is jarringly different to the rest of the series.

Some of the YouTube comments have also made unfavourable comparisons to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the 2016 Suicide Squad movie, and mobile title Raid: Shadow Legends. Plus, the overall artstyle is slightly cartoonier when compared to other Dragon Age games. You honestly could be forgiven this is not the same game BioWare's been teasing for the last six years. Previous teaser trailers had a far more serious tone that hint at a dark and dangerous journey, and not a fun, lighthearted romp like the newest one do??es.

The good news is BioWare has a chance to turn things around with the gameplay reveal taking place later today at 8am PT / 11am EDT / 4pm BST. It's entirely possible the new trailer isn't indicative of what The Veilguard is actually like. In fact, those who've already got to sample The Veilguard for themselves have suggested this is the case. One Bria LaVorgna, a member of the game's Community Council, said on Twitter, "As someone who's played some of Veilguard, if you want [Dragon Age: Origins]-like horror... it's there. Trust me. All of the environments I got to experience were varied and very much felt like Dragon Age, includin??g the new places. I think Tuesday's gameplay reveal will tone set for the game well."

Another council member, Twitter user sairaspooks, concurred, adding, "The gameplay reveal captures Dragon Age’s classic dark elements! The horror & gore is back, you won’t be disappointed." Dragon Age creator David Gaider, who left BioWare in 2016, also shared his two cents on the trailer: "Interesting tone choice... though the art style of DA trailers has never really?? matched the games,? so that doesn't mean much."

With any luck, it will turn out the reveal just made a bad first impression, and BioWare's gameplay demonstration will show off the Dragon Age game fans have been waiting for. Expectations were already high for this considering it's been almost a decade since the last entry, Dragon Age: Inquisition. Development, however, seems to have been tumultuous, what with the sudden departures of key staff members like Casey Hudson, BioWare's general manager, and Mark Darrah, Dragon Age's executive producer. BioWare was also one of the many studios to be hit with layoffs in 2023, eliminating approximately 50 roles.

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Fantasy series debuts December 9

Netflix has announced that its upcoming animated series based on the sword 'n' sorcery of Dragon Age will finally make its debut next month �Dragon Age: Absolution will premi?ere on the streaming service from December 9. The studio also released a brand new trailer to get fans' hype engines in gear.

Set in the lands of Tevinter, Absolution will follow the fable of Miriam, a former elven slave who is forced to throw off her shackles and rise to become the fearsome warrior that she was always destined to be. Across each of the show's six episodes, we w?ill journey with Miriam as she meets a party of noble and ignoble allies, confronting the tragedy of her past and forging a better future for herself, her people, and Tevinter itself. The show will feature the political drama, inte??rpersonal relationships, and epic interspecies warfare that have made BioWare's gaming franchise such an enduring hit with RPG fans.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7MZuR8RM48

The six-episode series has been written and produced by showrunner Mairghread Scott, previously responsible for the writing of several animated series within the Marvel Comics, Transformers, and Star Wars universes. Dragon Age: Absolution stars a cast of talented voice actors including Kimberley Brooks Ashley Burch, Phil LaMarr, Matt Mercer, and Sumalee Montano. Hopefully, this fresh dose of olde wurlde action will satiate the fanbase as they wait eagerly for BioWare's to wind up work on the highly anticipated Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, which is current?ly in development for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X.

Dragon Age: Absolution premieres exclusively on Netflix December 9.

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BioWare's next big RPG is playable start-to-finish now

The next Dragon Age game has passed a big internal milestone. In a new blog, BioWare confirms Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has completed the Alpha milestone.

What this means, effectively, is that Dreadwolf is current?ly playable from start to finish. This doesn't mean the work's done quite yet, though.

In a new blog, BioWare general ma??nager Gary McKay says the team is now looking at th?e narrative cohesion.

"We can take the story we’ve?? written and see if we’re expressing it well through the characters, dialogue, cinematics, and ultimately, the player’s journey," said McKay. "Now that we have the ability to do a complete playthrough, we can iterate and polish on the things that matter most to our fans."

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is heading to a few new locales. Notably, this includes one fans have heard about more than a few times: the Tevinter Imperium. Today's blog confirms players wil?l visit Minrathous, the heart of the Tevinter empire.

McKay continues on to say that the Dreadwolf team wants to "continue being transparent" with fans about development, and keep people up-to-date. So far, the studio has released a few development updates this year. One slapped the official subtitle on Dreadwolf. And another teased some codex entries that are in store.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw3lrXlti-8

The Dreadwolf rises

The next installment of Dragon Age was first teased at The Game Awards in 2018. Since then, BioWare's been working on it, going through some big shifts in the process.

While we've seen some teases, we've still had yet to see a full look at what's in store for the Dragon Age universe. Hopefully, with such a big milestone passed, BioWare will cast more light on the Dread?? Wolf's plans soon.

The post Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has passed its al?pha miles??tone appeared first on Destructoid.

Get a taste of the lore in store for Dragon Age 4

The team behind Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is giving fans a taste of the lore awaiting them in the new RPG. The writing team has shared a handful of codex entries from Dreadwolf, as part of a community update on the next Dragon Age.

In a BioWare blog post, the team behind Dreadwolf runs down the basics. As it?? says, stories and characters are at the core of BioWare games. Each person has their own motivations, and each? entry has its own hero, molded by player decisions.

Creating a world that's interesting to role-play in, then, is pretty important. And that's what today's codex entries tease out. Dreadwolf wil??l set out for the Tevinter Imperium, an ol??d and powerful region ruled by a host of mages.

This codex entry discusses the Grand Necropolis, a massive mausoleum in Nevarra City that is mentioned in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Citing Brother Genitivi, a scholar you can meet in Origins, it talks about the differences in handling the dead and "misconceptions" from others. Other entries shown in the new blog discuss dragons and eve?n has a quarterly issu?e to review.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7x685DxMcw

Forging the codex

It's a really interesting blog that goes on to chat with two members of the writing staff, discussing their work on Dreadwolf. For anyone who's wondered what writing work on a massive RPG like this looks like, it's some fascinating insight. In one section I really dug, narrative editor Ryan Cormier discusses how the team goes about deciding what should, and shouldn't, be a codex entry in Dreadwolf.

"Before any writing, the narrative team discusses which entries are required? and which aren’t. It’s crucial to properly time codex unlocks with player progression. No one wants a dozen entries only ten minutes into the game, but interested ??players shouldn’t have to wait long to learn more about the people, places, and concepts introduced. Does a codex unlock when something’s first mentioned? When a related character appears? Is the entry only required if they actually interact with said thing?"

Senior writier S??ylvia Feketekuty elaborates on this. The team chose to highlight the Necropolis entry bec?ause it was fun to write.

"I wanted the in-game author to be frustrated with Brother Genitivi’s portrayal of the Necropolis while also trying to deny the depth?? of his irritation with said world-famous scholar," said Feketekuty. "It’s a diary, yet we see the author still feels obligated to ??exercise a measure of decorum in his private writing. And the micro-revelation at the end is that it’s someone he knows in real life, not far-off Genitivi, who is needling the poor guy about Nevarra’s death rituals."

A new role to play

It's a nice bit of insight to see from developers. Many devs recently took to Twitter to share behind-the-scenes look at their work following the massive GTA leak. And the Dead Space and Skate teams, also under the EA banner, have been sharing early looks throughout their ?process.

Hopefully this is a slow-but-steady sea change in how we look at games. Seeing the gaming sausage be made can be eye-opening, and in cases like this Dreadwolf codex blog, give some really cool insight into how big worlds and ga??mes are built. I'd like to think it encourages someone out there right now, who wants to get into writing themselves.

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The Dragon Age is coming to Netflix

Today, Netflix and BioWare announced a new collaboration to bring Dragon Age to the streaming platform. Dragon Age: Absolution is a new series s?et in the world of Thedas, arriving this December on Netflix.

Shown off during today's Netflix Geeked stream, Dragon Age: Absolution is a six-episode series. It'll follow a set of new characters from the world of Dragon Age. That includes el?ves, Qunari, mages,?? knights, and some other surprises.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A1PSiPSs_k

Dragon Age: Absolution is set in Tevinter, which has some interesting implications. Plus, with the next Dragon Age game also heading Tevinter, the Netflix series could potentially s?et up storylines. Or it might just be a good entry point for newcomers. Either way, Tevinter is definitely an interesting place to go; it's a region full of magic, m??ystery, and intrigue.

The Dread Wolf nears

As for the Dragon Age series in the gaming realm, BioWare recently announced the title for its next entry. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will be the next mainline game, with the player he??ading to Tevinter and dealing with a lingering threat in Solas.

The latest Dragon Age has been in development for a while, and BioWare has confirmed it won't launch in 2022. Basically, it's going to be a?? while before we get a new virtual adventure in Thedas. In the meantime, this streaming series will be something for fans to dig into and pick apart, at the least.

Dragon Age: Absolution is another step of Netflix diving deeper into the world of video game adaptations, too. A new Cyberpunk anime was already announced, and its live-action Resident Evil adaptation arrives soon. Today's stream also had news about Netflix's Tekken series, The Cuphead Show, and the next book of Dota: Dragon's Blood. And now, the streaming service will break into the fantasy world o??f Thedas.

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Time to break some eggs

The next Dragon Age game officially has a subtitle. BioWare confirms today that the next game in the series will be officially titled Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

As the title and previous teasers have heavily implied, former party member Solas will be playing a big role in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. He is, himself, the Dread Wolf who can be seen as a betrayer or savior, dependin??g on your wo?rld view.

Either way, the story of Dragon Age: Inquisition's Trespasser DLC firmly set him up as the next big bad in Thedas. Whate?ver's next for the realm, it's sure to involve the trickster god in some way.

Interestingly enough, BioWare indicates that newcomers will be able to jump right in with Dreadwolf. "If you're new to Dragon Age, you have no need to worry about not having met our antagonist just ??yet," today's announcement reads. He will introduce himself to the player ?when the "time is right."

//twitter.com/dragonage/statu?s/1532406453071319045

The Dreadwolf rises

That's all the information we received today on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. BioWare confirms the next Dragon Age is not coming this year, though we are "growing closer" to the next adventure. The studio says it will be talking more about the game later this ye??ar.

BioWare has previously said it's still in production on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, so it's little surprise that its next big RPG isn't arriving this year. It's nice to have a subtitle too, so I can stop referring to it solely as "the next Dragon Age."

Still, I'm curious to see what the crew is up to, especially following the comment about newcomers. The Dragon Age games have historically carried save data and decisions across games. BioWare even developed an online tool for previous games to craft world states?? for pla?yers.

I'm interested to see if, and how, that carryover will be handled with Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. We'll s?ee? what Solas has in store later this year.

The post The next Dragon Age is? titled Dragon Age: Drea??dwolf appeared first on Destructoid.

Employees of Keywords Studios are the latest group to push for unionization

Quality assurance testers working for BioWare under support company Keywords Studios are attempting to unionize. A notice, filed April 20, states that employees in development support at the BioWare Edmonton office have submitted a union application.

Under the application filed with the Alberta Labor Relations Board (confirmed by Kotaku), ?employees supporting the Edmonton BioWare offic??e have applied under the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union. The application is under review and open to objections until May 3.

Keywords Studios is a contracting services company. The employees moving for unionization work directly with the production team at BioWare Edmonton, previously on Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and Star Wars: The Old Republic, and now on the next Dragon Age.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7x685DxMcw

An industry-wide ripple

Speaking with Kotaku, a representative for the group says the catalyst for unionization was returning to the office. Keywords informed employees they would have to return to BioWare offices in-person, five days a week starting on May 9. The rep says Keywords staff don't receive paid time off, while full-time BioWare staff still have work-from-home options available. In 2020, Keywords also faced criticism from staff over its response to the pandemic.

The group representative also? says that a big issue is pay. Keywords QA workers are allegedly being paid less than BioWare staff, and the rep voiced concerns about gender-based pay discrimination, lack of consistent metrics in employee evaluation?, and overall transparency issues regarding compensation.

This is one of several unionization efforts that has sprung up over the last year or so. Employees at Raven Software are working to unionize, and last December, Vodeo Games staff unionized.

As labor issues have become more widely publicized and discussed, efforts like these—especially among?? quality assurance workers—seem determined to propagate throughout the industry.

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There is another top-level departure at the developer, though

BioWare has another update on the current status of both Dragon Age and Mass Effect.?? Both are progressing, but alongside their upd??ates, there's also another high-level departure at BioWare.

Today's blog confirms that Dragon Age executive producer Christian Dailey is leaving the studio. Dailey joined the team in 2018 and worked on the Anthem overhaul project. When Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah retired from the company, Dailey took lead on the upcoming Dragon Age game.

"The games industry is ever-changing tho????ugh and sometimes folks want to go and try new things–we understand, but we will miss him as a friend and as a colleague," wrote BioWare GM Gary McKay.

The update reaffirms the team that's still in place for the next Dragon Age as well. Mac Walters, who led development on the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, is production director. Corrine Busche is game director, and Benoit Houle is director of product development. McKay says he will also be "working more closely" with the Dragon Age team.

//twitter.com/Christ??i??anDailey/status/1496554266315665408

As for the project itself, the update reaffirms that Dragon Age is "right in the middle o?f Production." The blueprint was completed last year, according ??????????????????????????to McKay.

He also notes the ongoing word on Star Wars: The Old Republic, which just launched an expansion, and the next Mass Effect. Announced at The Game Awards, the new Mass Effect is bei?ng led by Mike Gamble, and the team is curren??tly prototyping new ideas and experiences.

It sounds like these projects are still a ways off. A recent report from Jeff Grubb on his show GrubbSnax indicates it's still about 1????8 months away, though it's in good shape.

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Sounds like we won't get more news until the new year, though

BioWare celebrated the unofficial-official Dragon Age Day over the weekend, on Dec. 4. And while we got two new short stories set in the world of Thedas, it still seems like new Dragon Age news is a ways off.

As part of the festivities, BioWare dropped new merch, hosted events with charity rewards, and held writing challenges. They also released two new short stories set in the world Dragon Age: one about two Grey Wardens, and another about a pair of necromancers investigating a disturbance at the Grand?? Necropolis.

As for news about the next game in the series? Well, the team is still hard at work on the game. BioWare reaffirmed that this next Dragon Age is a single-player-focused experience. And? it says they're excited for "next year," when they can talk more about what they're working on.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7x685DxMcw

So it seems like a big Game Awards trailer similar to last year's might not be in the cards. That's fine, as BioWare seems to be juggling a few big projects at the moment. But I do hope there's something a bit more conc?rete in the works, whether that's a date or gameplay or anything.

Considering the project has had to reportedly change course in the past, hopefully a larger reveal is somewhere out there in 2022. Until then, we'll have some more lore from Dragon Age Day to tide us over.

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No last-gen editions for fantasy sequel

Various sources are pointing to the possibility that Electronic Arts' anticipated sequel Dragon Age 4 is only in development for PC and ninth-generation console platforms, and will not be seeing a release on PS4?? or Xbox One.

The whispers began after one of Dragon Age's lead designers failed to reference the last-gen platforms on a listing on networking website LinkedIn, which proclaims that Dragon Age 4 is currently in development for "PS5/Xbox Series X+S/PC". Gamesbeat's industry insider Jeff Grub, more often than not a very reliable sou?rce on these matters, further clarified that this aligns with word from thei?r own sources.

Given the scope and ambition of the fantasy sequel, as well as its tentative 2023 release date, it's understandable that developer BioWare would be "planning for the future," so to speak. One will recall that the lengthy cycle that preceded the launch of CDPR's Cyberpunk 2077 originally saw the title in development for "next-gen platforms." The team then pivoted to including PS4 and Xbox One, leading to one of the most notoriously abysmal launches in gaming history.

Dragon Age 4 looks set to be an epic, perhaps the biggest magnum opus for the studio since Mass Effect 2. As such, it makes perfect sense for the publisher to p??ut all of its eggs into the "next-gen" basket, so to speak, delivering an experience worthy of the franchise's grand ret?urn.

Dragon Age 4 is currently in development at BioWare. It is e?xpected to?? launch in 2023.

Dragon Age 4 is heading to PS5, Xbox S?eries X/S without cross-gen rele??ases [GamesBeat]

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Work continues on BioWare's epic sequels

This month will see Electronic Arts deliver its vaunted EA Play Live presentation, offering news, updates, and reveals on some of the biggest and most ambitious titles the publisher has queued up for gaming's newest generation. Not putting in an appearance during any of July's streams, however, will be the incoming Mass Effect and Dragon Age sequels.

Perhaps fearing severe backlash from disappointed pundits, (in gaming? Hardly), Canadian developer BioWare took to Twitter to confirm that the two epic titles will not feature in EA Play Live, though development continues. BioWare is really under the hammer at the moment. Not only is the studio beavering away at sequels for Mass Effect and Dragon Age �hugely intense projects in and of themselves �it is also hard at work on updates for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

I don't think anyone can blame the studio for its "yeah, don't bother us" approach to having gameplay, trailers, or anything to spotlight at EA Play Live. Hopefully, BioWare and its employees are not burning the midnight oil in order to get its list of AAA projects completed, but it's difficult to imagine that it isn't. While it has been some time since Mass Effect and Dragon Age fans set foot in a brand new adventure, there's little wrong with waiting longer.?? Hopefully, Electronic Arts and its shareholders feel the same way... They will, right?

Regardless, EA Play Live promises plenty of footage from Battlefield 2042, a selection of indie releases, and EA's typical sporting wares. For many, the big draw lies in the ever-increasing rumors that sci-fi horror franchise Dead Space is set to make a comeback, with either a remake or a "reima?gining" allegedly in the works at EA's Motive Studios. We'll find out the truth come July 22, when EA Play Live reaches its exciting crescendo.

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Make (dead) space in your calendar for EA Play Live

Electronic Arts has announced that it will be? holding its next major streaming presentation, EA Play Live, on July 22, hosted by none other than WWE wrestler and resident video game fan Xavier Woods �taking time out from his own gaming show, UpUpDownDown.

While the publisher is currently remaining tight-lipped about the live stream's contents, viewers can likely expect updates on DICE's Battlefield 2042, BioWare's Dragon Age 4, and a selection of EA's trademark sports & racing titles, especially given the studio's recent purchase of rubber-burnin' UK developer Codemasters �responsible for the development of road-rippers such as Dirt, F1, World Rally Championship, and Project CARS.

For many, however, the true draw lies in the recent rumors that Electronic Arts plans to resurrect a much-beloved IP during the EA Play Live presentation, with all of the whispers pointing toward a new entry in the sci-fi horror franchise, Dead Space. EA shut down original series producer Visceral Games in 2017, which will leave the new title in the hands of internal studio EA Motive... If it is Dead Space, of course.

EA Play Live kicks off Thursday, July 22, with a pre-show starting at 10:00 PT / 13:00 ET / 18:00 BST ahead of the main presentation. We will, of course, bring you all of the hot scoops right here on Destructoid. Personally, I'd like to see a brand new Mirror's Edge sequel ?revealed, because my hopes are? bitterly unrealistic.

//twitter.com/EA/status/1407382881538818050?s=20

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A different vision for Kirkwall

Dragon Age 2 has had a swerving legacy. It launched to poor critical re?ception, yet its stories and characters endured?? in the fandom, and the sequel garnered its own following.

It was also a famously troubled project, with the team having an extremely small development window to work in and an expansion leading into Dragon Age: Inquisition left on the table. It's hard not to w??onder what could have been if t??he studio had been given more time.

Today, just over a decade since Dragon Age 2 launched, several developers who worked on the project are now reminiscing on it and wondering what-if. It largely kicked off with David Gaider, lead writer on Dragon Age 2 and current Creative Director at Summerfall Studios, answering a simple question: "If you could Zack Snyder [Dragon Age 2], what would you change?"

"If you could Zack Snyder DA2, what would you? cha??nge?"

Wow. I'm willing to bet Mark or Mike (or anyone else on the team) would give very different answers than me, but it's enough to give a sober man pause, because that was THE Pr??oject of Multiple Regrets.

— David Gaider (@davidgaider) April 13, 2021

As Gaider acknowledges, not only is this "the most hypothetical of hypotheticals," it's also an odd case, because in some ways Dragon Age 2 was made the way it was because of the conditions it was created in. He describes his writing team as "firing on all cylinders," writing like the wind becaus?e they had to. But that aside?

Restoring the intended changes to Kirkwall over the years is a big one. He mentions the criticism that's often levied at Dragon Age 2—repetitious environments—but says he wanted Kirkwall to feel like a bigger city, more crowded, and ??more alive.

Several plot lines are referenced, like one where a mage Hawke comes close to becoming an abomination, work done on the final fights with Orsino and Meredith ("full Tetsuo" is how he describes the latter, which is great), a less sudden build-up to the mage vs. Templar conflict, and possibly even an unplanned additional option to side with neither side.

There's a lot in this thread, though my favorites are more time spent with Bethany and Carver before one of them gets annihilated by darkspawn in the intro, and restoring the scenes where "Varric exaggerates the heck out of the story" until Cassandra calls him on it. It happens in a few places in Dragon Age 2, but seems like it was meant to happen much more often; Dragon Age 2 writer Mary Kirby, who's still at BioWare today, describes a scene where ??Varric narrates his own death with Hawke weeping over him, cutting to Ca??ssandra gla??ring at him.

Others reflected on their favorite moments, including the overly dramatic sarcastic Hawke response in the Mark of the Assassin DLC. Lord, Hawke really sells it.

Even if Mass Effect is getting its own touch-up with the upcoming Legendary Edition, any sort of return to Dragon Age past—specifically Dragon Age 2—does seem like a bit of stretch. BioWare seems mostly full steam ahead, with development underway on both the next Dragon Age and, past Legendary Edition, the next Mass Effect.

Still, it's nice to wonder what could have been. I've come around on Dragon Age 2 myself over the years; its companion mechanics, with Friendship and Rivalry, and various story beats are some of my favorite in the series. Characters like Merrill, Fenris, and Varric stick with me, too (not Anders though, you know what you did). Guess I'll just?? have to settle for the Kirkwall that could have ?been.

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Rational Anthem

Sources inside Electronic Arts are claiming that the publisher has done a severe about-face on the development of its upcoming Dragon Age sequel, pumping the brakes on the new title's multiplayer components in the wake of the recent sunsetting of BioWare's Anthem.

According to a report ??by? Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, the still-unnamed Dragon Age sequel had its design concepts revised in 2017, with EA envisioning a multiplayer-centric affair, peppered with long-term monetization goals. This new take on the Dragon Age project was allegedly described by some employees as "Anthem with dragons," and is supposedly what led to creative director Mike Laidlaw?? leaving the project ?entirely later in 2017.

The report states, however, that EA has been forced to further re-evaluate Dragon Age's design following the devastating failure of Anthem, which itself was designed as a multiplayer-centric, long-term-monetization vehicle. Equally as important to this turn of events is the success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a single-player title that sold gangbusters despite, God Forbid, being a single-player title developed without a strict games-as-service model in mind. These two aspects, ultimately, may have saved the new Dragon Age from a fate worse than cancellation, as EA has reportedly instructed the development team to go ??all-in on the fantas??y adventure's single-player campaign.

There's still quite a while to go before fans can tread the ruins of Thedas once again, with Dragon Age tentatively scheduled for release in the spring of 2022. But this news - if proven accurate ?- at least offers some form of hope to the fanbase that the long-awaited sequel might be back on track to deliver the epic narrative and encompassing adventure that made the franchise so enthralling in its heyday.

Electronic Arts pivots on Dragon Ag?e game, removes multiplayer [Bloomberg / Eurogamer]

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Technically a teaser

If it feels like we've been waiting for years, well, it's because we have. But finally the veil has been pulled back. We have our first look at BioWare's new Dragon Age game.

Simply called "Dragon Age," this official reveal doesn't divulge a whole lot. There's no actual gameplay or important details. Here's the description from the trailer's YouTube page: "The world of Dragon Age needs a new hero -- someone who can take on the evil forces threatening Thedas. Get a first look at some of the new locations you'll discover and the factions fighting by your side in the next chapter of Dragon Age."

At least it's something. Another Dragon Age ??is confirmed and we're going back to Thedas... sometime.

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Another Game Awards world premiere

A new Dragon Age is something that we've known has been in the works for a long while now. The series has been on pause for six years now, patiently waiting its turn behind the likes of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem. But it's almost time to go back to Thedas.

Geoff Keighley has confirmed that the next Dragon Age will make an appearance at The Game A?wards, which takes place on December 10:

Don't miss a special look at the next DRAGON AGE from @bioware during #TheGameAwards next Thursday. pic.twitter.com/zPKHWroH7i

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) December 4, 2020

It's about time! Here's where we're at thus far. At The Game Awards 2018, BioWare teased a new Dragon Age game with the Dread Wolf trailer. Last year, despite very much seeming on-track for an official reveal, the game was never actually announced. At this June's EA Play stream, BioWare showed some concept art that definitely had to be the first images of the new Dragon Age. Today, to celebrate Dragon Age Day (which always comes around on December 4), BioWare released some short stories from its writers that definitely s?eem to be ??prepping us for an imminent reveal.

While we're six days out from The Game Awards, we're also just one day removed from news that BioWare GM Casey Hudson and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah both abruptly left the company at the same time. Even though they predictably maintain that the next Dragon Age is in good hands and shaping up nicely, their departures will have some effect. With Dragon Age, it's always a twiste??d and convolute??d tale, and that extends beyond the stuff with dragons and high fantasy.

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Darrah remains 'confident that the next Dragon Age will show that we remain committed to this kind of game'

In a surprising turn of events today at BioWare, two long-time staffers – Casey Hudson, the studio's general manager, and Mark Darrah, the executive producer of Dragon Age – announced they're retiring.

"Arriving at this point has been an opportunity for me to reflect on my own future, and 2020 has been a year that forced all of us to re-imagine how we think about work and life," said Casey. "For me, it's been the realizatio?n that I still have tremendous energy to create, but also that I need to try something different." With his retirement, he's opening the door "for the next gen??eration of studio leaders."

"BioWare has always been about telling emotional stories through characters," said Darrah. "We have wandered away from this central guiding pillar at times, but I am confident that the next Dragon Age will show that ??we remain committed to this kind of game. We will have a lot to show you."

"Mass Effect too has an exciting future," he added. "I won't say too much but I am impr??essed by the growth of Mike Gamble and I am looking forward to all that franchise will do under his leadership."

EA's chief studios officer Laura Miele shared?? her own h??igh-level update in a public statement.

"Samantha Ryan, who came to Electronic Arts after leading Warner Brothers Games, is one of the strongest leaders in the industry. She will continue to oversee the studio. I'm also excited to announce Christian Dailey, who joined BioWare from Blizzard, will be leading our Dragon Age project currently in development. Christian is a fantastic creative leader and I look forward to you all getting to know him in the coming days. We recently announced Mass Effect: The Legendary Edition and Mike Gamble is leading a team hard at work on that franchise's future." BioWare? is still lining up a new general manager.

These are two series that fans are hoping against hope will turn out w?ell. Count me among them.

?A Message From Laura Miele, Chief Studios Officer, Electronic Arts [BioWare]

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Located in Quebec City

Mike Laidlaw is a name you probably see ?pop up from?? time to time.

That's because he was lead designer on Dragon Age: Origins and oversaw the entire Dragon Age series; and he also had a hand in several BioWare classics like Jade Empire. But in 2017, Laidlaw departed BioWare several years before their name would become more sullied by Anthem and right after the tumultuous launch of Mass Effect: Andromeda. He left at a good time, but now we finally know what he's been up to. Enter Yellow Bri??ck Games.

Announced today with a si??t??e that lays down what it's all about, Laidlaw is joining up with several other key developers from studios such as Ubisoft, with a mission to "deliver innovative and emergent gameplay crafted by a small, highly skilled team." Seemingly out of the AAA game, Laidlaw's studio "believes very strongly in creating digital playgrounds. The more interactivity and freedom a game can give to a player, the more immersive and compelling it can be, so long as there are ??clear rules that guide those interactions."

Laidlaw serves as one of the four founders of the studio, along with Frederic St-Laurent B, Jeff Skalski, and Thomas Giroux: they're based in Quebec City and are currently hiring. Like many former AAA studios, this is another one to pu??t on your list of "wait and sees." So many developers are becoming fed up with the way conglomerates like EA and Activision are doing business, so hopefully this expanded creative freedom will lead to good things for everyone.

About Us [Yellow Brick Games]

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Mark Darrah speaks

Dragon Age 4, whic?h will undoubtedly be coming to next-gen consoles at this point, is still making progress. How much progress? Well, that depends on how well BioWa?re handles working from home in the coming months.

Although the team has been fairly silent on anything explicitly Dragon Age 4 for a long while, BioWare executive pro?ducer Mark Darr?ah took to Twitter to calm the masses; providing a semi-detailed missive of what's actually happening. In his four point directive, he explained that Dragon Age 4 production is still tru??cking along, despite the fact that BioWare is working from home.

He does note, however, like several other studios (some of whom have delayed their games due to remote work), that "working from home is harder." For AAA game development, which requires all sorts of coordination from voiceover work, to design, to orchestral scores, I believe it! There is zero mention of a "delay" of any kind though, so as always, Dragon Age 4 will come when it comes.

Mark Darrah [Twitter]

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If you leave us to speculate, our speculation will run rampant

Electronic Arts' EA Play Live stream lasted 50 minutes today, and exactly 14 of those second was dedicated to talking about BioWare. Here's what was said: "BioWare imagines and creates worlds where you become the hero of your own story. We're using this next generation of technology to make ?those fantasy worlds your reality."

Much more important, here's what was shown:

And:

Also:

This has to be Dragon Age 4 environmental concept art, right? It's certainly not Mass Effect. It better not be more Anthem.

EA has already confirmed that BioWare is working on another Dragon Age, but we shouldn't expect it until 2022 at the earliest. That means you can bet it's a PS5 and ??Xbox Series X game. Otherwise, it's all very impossible to speculate about.

Just look at the pictures. That's why you're her??e anyway.

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More to come

EA is making good on that promise to bring more games to Steam nine years after an exodus from Valve's platform in favor of its own marketplace, EA Origin. This rekindled relationship?? just took a big step forward as EA added 13 more games to Steam.

This morning, EA put these games on Steam:

• Burnout Paradise Remastered ($5)
• Crysis 3 ($10)
• Dragon Age II ($10)
• Dragon Age: Inquisition ($20)
• Fe ($10)
• Mirror's Edge Catalyst ($10)
• Need for Speed ($10)
• Need for Speed: Heat ($28)
• Need for Speed: Rivals ($10)
• Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for the Neighborville ($20)
• Sea of Solitude ($10)
• Unravel ($10)
• Unravel 2 ($10)

Most of the??m are old, but some of them are relatively new. Also, all of them are on sale -- a minimum of 50 percent but some all the way up to 75 percent off. The listings above reflect the sale price. The discounts are good until July 9?.

However, if you don't want ?to jump in head-first on full-blown ownership, EA is also bringing its subscription service to Steam. EA Access will launch sometime this summer, and its library will include all the games listed abov?e. EA Access is expected to run $5 per month, which is how much it costs on EA Origin.

There's more c??oming too. This is just the "first wave" of EA games on Steam. It'll eventually swell to more than 25 games total. EA says that we'll get more info about EA Access and new Steam games during EA Play Live next Thursday.

EA Games Come to Steam [Electronic Arts]

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Start warming up those lungs

A few weeks ago, we reported on an intriguing new title, Chorus: A Musical Adventure, that had begun raising capital on crowdfunding website Fig. Well, it appears plenty of people are ready to give it once more with feeling, as the unique looking RPG has surpassed its initial goal of $600,000 with just two days to spare.

To refresh memories, Chorus is the story of a singer called Grace whose world is thrown into disarray when a mysterious, newly-signed band member is murdered, leaving our hero s?uddenly possessed by strange, otherworldly powers. Now wanted fo?r the killing, Grace must travel to the underworld, interact with famous gods and demons such as Apollo, Persephone, and Pan, and solve the mysterious murder of The Muse if she is to clear her name and return to any semblance of normality.

What makes Chorus truly different from your average RPG is that the game plays out almost? entirely in the form of a stage musical. Conversations are performed in the form of dramatic and powerful ballads, with dialogue options counting as both lyrics, and also tonal changes to the song's direction.

There isn't a whole lot to look at right now. But with cool-looking characters, a unique concept, and talent including Dragon Age writer David Gaider and voice actors Troy Baker and Laura Bailey, Chorus: A Musical Adventure is definitely on my radar, and I'm looking?? forward to its PC release, very loosely scheduled for 2021.

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Return to Thedas?

BioWare is akin to a man caught in a torrential downpour without an umbrella, but with a big goofy smile plastered to his face because sunny days might be ahead. By the most lenient estimat??e, the rainstorm has lasted nearly three years; by harsher standards, it's more like eight years.

Through the decade, BioWare has suffered: Enormous blowback to the end of Shepard's arc in Mass Effect 3; a divisive reception to Dragon Age: Inquisition; the cancellation of Shadow Realms; a new Mass Effect that was so universally hated that it forced EA to put the series on indefinite hiatus; and an attempt at a Destiny-like games-as-a-service product in Anthem, which saw its player base plummet to depressingly low numbers mere months after launch. All the while, BioWare has been outwardly optimistic about the future of everything -- Mass Effect, Anthem, all of it -- despite not giving us any real reason ?to be o?ptimistic about any of it.

It seems as though the next opportunity for BioWare to correct course will be revealed in a month. Earlier today, BioWare tweeted t?his:

Today marks 10 years of Dragon Age! This year we’re excited to join the community’s party on December 4th and celebrate a decade together in the world we all love. See you on 12/4 for Dragon 4ge Day!

— BioWare (@bioware) November 3, 2019

It's not an outright confirmation, no, but it's also as subtle as a baseball bat to the kneecap -- which, ironically, is exactly what it'll feel like if Dragon Age 4 isn't announced. Transposing the A with a 4 would be the cruelest joke if there were no upcoming reveal. That's especially true because BioWare has been teasing a new Dragon Age for a year now.

But, there probably will be. We're probably going to get first confirmation of Dragon Age 4 on December 4, and it'll probably be followed by a proper trailer a week later during The Game Awards. Whatever happens, don't expect a release anytime in the near future. EA recently told investors that a new Dragon Age game won't launch until 2022?? at ?the earliest.

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Don't bore us, get to the...

One of the most intriguing looking projects currently on the crowdfunding scene is all new title Chorus: An Adventure Musical, which is currently in pre-development at Aust?ralian company Summerfall?? Studios.

Chorus is a narrative adventure game that puts players in the boots of Grace, a young singer whose life takes an extreme turn for the weird when a recently signed band member (the Muse) dies in her arms, bestowing upon Grace incredible powers. Now erroneously wanted for her killing, Grace must track down the real culprit while interacting with the Muse's friends - who just so happen to be a menagerie of mythologi??cal gods and monsters.

The kicker in Chorus' concept is that the story plays out in musical format, and will be packed to the brim with dramatic, powerful songs, which including branching verses dependent on your actions and dialogue choices. A concept video - which you can check out below - features Summerfall's Liam Esler and Dragon Age writer David Gaider explaining the mechanics of Chorus' mystic universe, while in-game clips feature stalwart voice actor Laura Bailey demonstrating how the lung-busting ballads will be incorporated into Chorus' gameplay.

It's an obvious comparison to make, but anyone who remembers the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Once More With Feeling" will immediately understand what Summerfall are going for with this project.

Chorus is currently crowdfunding on fig.co, where (at the time of writing) it has raised $133,000 of a $600,000 target. Summerfall is currently looking toward a PC release, though it will consider console ports if the opportunity presents itself. There's still a long way to go, unfortunately, as the team is predicting a two-year development cycle. But given the talent on-board, Chorus could prove more than worth the wait in the end.

With great looking art, slick and stylish characters, and a fascinating and unique narrative mechanic - at least where video games are concerned - I'm already sold on Chorus: An Adventure Musical. Here's hoping we'll be hearing more n?ews about this intriguing new title in the near future. Oh, and Summerfall? If you need more singers, I'll warm up my drunken "Cat's in the Cradle."

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An acknowledgement to fans

BioWare's Casey Hudson hopped on stage early into The Game Awards to talk about... Anthem. Yes, Anthem. The studio's loot-driven sci-fi shooter with RPG elements that's launching in February. But fans of a certain other BioWare property -- one we recently heard rumblings about -- only needed some patience. Later on in the show, BioWare debuted a teaser trailer for the next Dragon Age.

"I suspect you have questions..." #TheDreadWolfRises pic.twitter.com/oT7L6LOFKA

— BioWare (@bioware) December 7, 2018

The short clip was a stripped-down teaser with familiar imagery and a simple voic?e-over: "So, you've found me at last? I suspect you have questions." Cu??e #TheDreadWolfRises. That's a wrap.

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The RPG series is 'incredibly important' to the studio

BioWare is busy wrapping up Anthem, its futuristic multiplayer action-RPG centered around exosuits, but that's not about to stop us from wondering what's up with the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series.

With respect to Mass Effect, we recently saw a small news blip pop up on N7 Day: BioWare released a 4K and HDR update for Mass Effect: Andromeda on Xbox One X. It was something! Reiterating that there's still hope for the dubious series, general manager Casey Hudson said that the N7 Day festivities were "just a small part of the plans we're making for Mass Effect going forward."

On the Dragon Age front, Hudson was more concrete. "If you've been following these blogs, or myself and Mark Darrah on Twitter, you know we're also working on some secret Dragon Age stuff," he said.

"Dragon Age is an incredibly important franchise in our studio, and we're excited to continue its legacy. Look for more on this in the coming month (though I won't tell you where to look…)."

It's easy to assume that "in the coming month" is code for The Game Awards, which will air next Thursday, December 6 with at least 10 new game announcements. We already know that BioWare is planning to debut a new trailer for Anthem at the show. Maybe? we're in for a classic one-two punch?

November Update [BioWare]

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