Plans are apparently changing dramatically for BioWare’s in-developmentDragon Agesequel. Little has been shared publicly regardingDragon Age 4, which was announced with a teaser trailer during The Game Awards 2018. Reporting following the announcement indicated thatDragon Age 4was planned to be a live service experience with multiplayer, though. That plan has apparently changed, with Electronic Arts now approving a completely single-player direction for the project.
The decision, as reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, comes as a direct result of the circumstances surrounding recent Electronic Arts and BioWare game releases. Specifically, the success ofStar Wars: Jedi Fallen Orderand thecancellation of BioWare’sAnthemrebootled to the pivot. Confidence in single-player performing well and lack of trust in BioWare’s ability to deliver a successful live-service game drove the decision, in other words. It’s said that EA CEO Andrew Wilson and other EA executives were the ones who changed their minds.
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The size of the undertaking at BioWare’s hands can’t be understated, however. BioWare has heavily shifted its development practices towards supportinglive service and multiplayer featuresover the past 5 years. It’s difficult to say what a heavy shift back toward single-player will mean for the studio, both in terms of its current staffing and how much workDragon Age 4and other projects will require to adjust.
Despite those obstacles, Schreier reports that BioWare leadership has pushed for itsin-developmentDragon Ageprojectto be shifted back to a single-player focus for some time. It’s unclear if EA’s decision to move back toward single-player would have happened without BioWare’s leadership pushing for it. Regardless, there’s likely to be a wave of support within BioWare for the new direction, even if it does mean scrapping a lot of plans and redoing a lot of work.
One key factor that isn’t mentioned is how BioWare’snewly announcedMass Effectprojectfits into the situation. It’s unclear ifMass Effectwas also planned to be a live service game and will now be single-player, or ifMass Effectwas always going to be single-player and if that direction influenced this decision forDragon Age 4. It’s a tumultuous time at BioWare, to be sure.
The BioWare of 2021 now has an opportunity to reinvent itself, either refocusing on the ideas that led to its success over the past decades or finding a new direction entirely. The disappointing era ofAnthemis now behind it. What that means forBioWare’s futureis up to the studio to decide.
Dragon Age 4is in development.
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