In the wake of significant layoffs at BioWare, which saw the departure of numerous key developers behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard, former series writer Sheryl Chee has stepped forward to reassure fans. Amidst concerns that the franchise may be waning, Chee emphasized the enduring spirit of the Dragon Age community, stating, "DA isn't dead because it's yours now."
This week, Electronic Arts (EA) restructured BioWare to prioritize the development of Mass Effect 5 exclusively. As a result, some team members from Dragon Age: The Veilguard were reassigned to other EA studio projects. For instance, John Epler, the creative director of Veilguard, was shifted to work on Full Circle's upcoming skateboarding game, Skate. However, many others found themselves laid off and are now in search of new employment opportunities.
The restructuring followed EA's announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had not met the company's expectations, with the game engaging only 1.5 million players in the recent financial quarter—a figure that fell short of projections by nearly 50%. It's worth noting that this number does not necessarily reflect unit sales, as Dragon Age: The Veilguard was also accessible through EA's Play Pro subscription service. Additionally, it remains unclear whether the free trial offered through the less expensive EA Play subscription contributed to the 1.5 million player count.
EA's announcements, the subsequent restructuring of BioWare, and confirmation of layoffs have fueled fears among the Dragon Age fanbase that the series may be on its last legs. There are no plans for downloadable content (DLC) for The Veilguard, and BioWare's work on the game concluded with what appears to be its final significant update last week.
Despite these developments, Sheryl Chee, who transitioned from BioWare to work on Iron Man at Motive, took to social media to offer a message of hope. Reflecting on the challenges of the past two years, Chee said, "I'm now with Motive. 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."
Addressing a fan's concern about the perceived death of Dragon Age, Chee responded with a message of empowerment, saying, "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.' (I mean, who does resistance like the French, right?) 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, "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 closely by Dragon Age 2 in 2011. Dragon Age: Inquisition, released in 2014, was a significant success, with former executive producer Mark Darrah revealing in September that it had sold over 12 million copies, far exceeding 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 current focus on Mass Effect 5. EA has confirmed that a "core team" at BioWare, led by veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley, is diligently working on the next installment. EA told IGN, "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."
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