The success of Fallen Order also affected the pivot.
Developer BioWare’s highly anticipated new Dragon Age game is now reportedly a pure single-player experience, with EA turning 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 the next Dragon Age title was previously designed with a heavy multiplayer component.
The project reportedly first went into development in 2015, but Bloomberg says the original vision was rebooted by EA and BioWare in 2017, in a bid to make money in the long run. This reboot – supposedly dismissed by some employees as “Anthem with Dragons” – is said to be the reason behind creative director Mike Laidlaw’s departure that same year.
The next official Dragon Age teaser trailer.
However, according to Bloomberg, those plans have shifted yet again, and EA BioWare has now given the green light to remove the Dragon Age multiplayer component and transform it into a single-player experience – a process that is underway throughout the course. of the past months.
EA’s pivot is reportedly due to two events: the reception of BioWare’s multiplayer shooter Anthem – which flopped at release and will no longer receive its much-anticipated revision as of yesterday – plus the success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from developer Respawn Entertainment. The final game – a strictly single player experience – was well received at launch and exceeded EA’s sales expectations, reaching more than 10 million players.
BioWare, which is also working on a new Mass Effect title, has been steadily relaying details of the upcoming Dragon Age game over the past few months, sharing a short new teaser late last year, as well as location news in January. . There is no official window for the release yet, but the release is expected to arrive sometime after April 2022.