The success of Fallen Order also influenced the pivot.
The long awaited new Dragon Age game from developer BioWare is now supposed to be a strictly single player experience, with EA having directed its demands for a live service style game after the success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the failure of Anthem.
As reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, sources familiar with the matter say that the next Dragon Age title was previously being designed with a heavy multiplayer component.
The project went into development for the first time in 2015, but Bloomberg says the original vision was restarted by EA and BioWare in 2017, in an attempt at long-term monetization. This reboot – allegedly dismissed by some employees as “Hino with dragons” – is considered the reason behind creative director Mike Laidlaw’s departure in the same year.
Official teaser trailer for the upcoming Dragon Age.
According to Bloomberg, however, these plans have changed once again, and EA has now given BioWare the go-ahead to remove the Dragon Age multiplayer component and turn it into a single-player experience – a process that is underway. progress over the course of the past few months.
EA’s pivot is supposedly attributable to two events: the reception of BioWare’s multiplayer shooter Anthem – which failed at launch and will no longer receive its long-awaited review until yesterday – plus the success of developer Respawn Entertainment Jedi: Fallen Order. The latest game – a strictly single-player experience – was well received at launch and exceeded EA’s sales expectations, reaching over 10 million players.
BioWare, which is also working on a new Mass Effect title, has continually released details of its upcoming Dragon Age game in recent months, sharing a brief new teaser at the end of last year, as well as location news in January. There is still no official window for its launch, but it is currently expected to arrive sometime after April 2022.