BioWare has confirmed to Rolling Stone magazine that the game Dragon Age: The Veilguard will not have any additional DLC content and is currently focusing all efforts on developing the new Mass Effect installment.
Previous Dragon Age games have had robust DLC content, but BioWare’s current strategy differs as they prioritize the development of the new Mass Effect game to regain the company’s reputation following the setbacks of Anthem.
John Epler, the creative head at BioWare, revealed in the Rolling Stone interview that the addition of multiplayer gameplay in Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014 received mixed reactions from fans. Similarly, experimenting with multiplayer features in The Veilguard aimed to find the best storytelling approach but ultimately led to the decision to focus on a single-player experience, the studio’s core foundation.
A pivotal decision for BioWare was shifting to a party system of three (similar to Mass Effect) instead of the previous four-party system in Dragon Age. Initially designed with a four-party multiplayer setup, the transition to a single-player experience with a three-party system required adjustments to various game mechanics in the new installment.
Additionally, The Veilguard initially explored an open-world concept but encountered similar challenges as other games, including Inquisition, in creating engaging content to fill expansive worlds. In response, recent versions of the game have removed open-world elements, focusing solely on key content and scenes.
Epler mentioned the possibility of remastering older Dragon Age installments, expressing interest in the idea but noting challenges related to the use of different game engines. Remastering the first two games, which used the Eclipse engine, would be more difficult compared to the third installment’s Frostbite engine. With fewer than 20 individuals at BioWare, including himself, who have experience with Eclipse, the remastering process would be considerably easier than the first Mass Effect trilogy, which used the Unreal Engine.
Source: Rolling Stone via IGN
TLDR: BioWare has shifted focus from Dragon Age to developing a new Mass Effect game, making significant gameplay and storytelling decisions to adapt to changing trends and maintain company reputation.
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