Plans are apparently changing dramatically for BioWare's in-development Dragon Age sequel. Little has been shared publicly regarding Dragon Age 4, which was announced with a teaser trailer during The Game Awards 2018. Reporting following the announcement indicated that Dragon Age 4 was 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 of Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and the cancellation of BioWare's Anthem reboot led 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.
The size of the undertaking at BioWare's hands can't be understated, however. BioWare has heavily shifted its development practices towards supporting live service and multiplayer features over 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 work Dragon Age 4 and other projects will require to adjust.
Despite those obstacles, Schreier reports that BioWare leadership has pushed for its in-development Dragon Age project to 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's newly announced Mass Effect project fits into the situation. It's unclear if Mass Effect was also planned to be a live service game and will now be single-player, or if Mass Effect was always going to be single-player and if that direction influenced this decision for Dragon 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 of Anthem is now behind it. What that means for BioWare's future is up to the studio to decide.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
Source: Bloomberg