Forspoken's Failure Forced Dragon Age: The Veilguard Rewrites

A recent report has provided new insights into the troubled development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, sparking concerns about BioWare's future viability.

In January, publisher Electronic Arts disclosed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had underperformed against its projections by approximately 50%, shortly after game director Corrine Busche confirmed her departure from the company. Additionally, other BioWare staff involved in the project were laid off. That same month, BioWare indicated it had released the final update for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, with no additional content planned or anticipated.

IGN had previously covered The Veilguard's development cycle, documenting how the project transformed from a single-player experience to a live-service multiplayer title before reverting to its original format. Now, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has uncovered fresh details about BioWare's internal challenges during production, explaining precisely why the game disappointed certain fans by lacking meaningful player choices and consequences—core elements that traditionally define BioWare's most acclaimed titles.

Schreier revealed that many of The Veilguard's problems stemmed from its transition back from multiplayer to single-player RPG, affecting its overall tone, dialogue quality, and limited impactful decision-making. One notable insight: BioWare grew concerned after Square Enix's Forspoken underperformed, fearing The Veilguard's initially sarcastic tone might lead to similar criticism. This prompted a "late-stage dialogue overhaul" to adopt a more serious narrative approach, ultimately creating tonal inconsistencies throughout the game.

Internal discussions also questioned The Veilguard's marketing strategy ("an early trailer presented the new Dragon Age installment as more comparable to Fortnite than a mature fantasy RPG, raising doubts about EA's understanding of the target audience").

EA chose not to comment when approached by Bloomberg for the story.

The aftermath of The Veilguard's commercial disappointment leaves a reduced team developing Mass Effect 5, though uncertainty surrounds BioWare's long-term prospects. The Dragon Age franchise appears dormant following The Veilguard's performance, marking BioWare's third consecutive commercial setback after Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem. Could EA potentially shutter the studio?

Bloomberg cited TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz, who noted that while EA requires diverse content beyond sports titles, "if they closed BioWare tomorrow, I wouldn't be completely shocked. It's been over ten years since their last major success."

Read the complete investigation in Bloomberg's feature article.