As Dragon Age Fans Fear the Death of the Series, One Former BioWare Developer Offers Words of Reassurance: 'Dragon Age Isn't Dead Because It's Yours Now'

Following layoffs at BioWare impacting key Dragon Age: The Veilguard developers, a former writer offered reassurance to fans, stating, "DA isn't dead because it's yours now."

This week's EA restructuring prioritized Mass Effect 5, reassigning some Veilguard staff to other EA studios (Game Developer reported John Epler, Veilguard's creative director, joined Full Circle's Skate project). However, other developers confirmed layoffs.

This followed EA's announcement of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's underperformance, reporting 1.5 million engaged players – significantly below projections. Importantly, EA didn't specify if this figure represented unit sales (considering EA Play Pro and potentially free trials), leaving the actual performance unclear.

Regardless, the announcement, BioWare restructuring, and layoffs fueled fan concerns about the Dragon Age franchise's future. No DLC is planned for The Veilguard, and BioWare's work concluded last week with what appeared to be a final major update.

Sheryl Chee, a senior writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard (now at Motive working on Iron Man), offered a message of hope on social media:

"It's been a hard two years... But I'm still employed." Responding to a fan expressing concern about Dragon Age's demise, she emphasized the franchise's continued life through fan contributions:

"DA isn't dead. There's fic. There's art. Technically EA/BioWare owns the IP but you can't own an idea... DA isn't dead because it's yours now." She further clarified, "If DA has inspired you... then it's done its job."

The Dragon Age series began with 2010's Dragon Age: Origins, followed by Dragon Age 2 (2011) and Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014). The Veilguard's release marked a decade-long gap. In September, former producer Mark Darrah revealed Dragon Age: Inquisition's sales massively exceeded EA's internal projections, exceeding 12 million copies.

While EA hasn't declared Dragon Age dead, a new game seems unlikely in the near future, given BioWare's restructuring and focus on Mass Effect 5. EA assured IGN that Mass Effect 5's development has a "core team" of veterans from the original trilogy, stating they have "the right number of people in the right roles."