The Dragon Age series has been one of BioWare's most beloved, with much anticipation among fans for the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. After the undeniable success of the first game, Dragon Age established itself as another of BioWare's popular single-player RPGs, and even though its sequel received some mixed reviews and Dragon Age: Inquisition wasn't without its flaws, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is setting itself up to be an exciting new chapter for the franchise. However, with some senior staff turnover since it started development, including its production director Mac Walters, a few fans are apprehensive about the state of the game.
BioWare learned its lesson after what many fans felt was a rushed development for Dragon Age 2 with slightly disappointing results, so there was a bigger gap between the release of the second and third game. Gamers have had to wait even longer for the fourth installment, with almost a decade passing since Dragon Age: Inquisition was launched. While this might seem like a positive step to some and gives the game a good few years to get everything right, others might be concerned about the length of time that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has been in development and what this could mean for its eventual release.
Mac Walters' Departure From Dragon Age
After almost two decades, Mac Walters announced recently that he was leaving BioWare. Walters joined the studio back in 2003, and was a writer for Jade Empire and the Mass Effect series, becoming more senior and taking on more responsibility with the narrative direction of each game as the years passed. Following the success of the original Mass Effect trilogy, Walters moved onto directing games like Anthem, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and the recent Mass Effect Legendary Edition remaster. With such an impressive resume, Walters has shown how he was involved in almost all the major releases coming out of BioWare in the past twenty years, and appeared from the outside to be an integral part of many of these games.
Most recently, Mac Walters was serving at the production director of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Although it might have seemed sudden or surprising to those outside of the studio considering that game hasn't even been released yet, Walters' departure from BioWare appeared amicable. With a post on LinkedIn that confirmed his change of career direction, Walters reflected fondly on his time at BioWare and spoke about his gratitude toward his colleagues. However, this isn't the first high-profile departure from BioWare in recent years, and fans are understandably a little worried about how this will affect the studio's releases.
How This Could Affect Dragon Age: Dreadwolf's Development
BioWare has been opening up a little more in the last few months regarding its next big release, providing some details about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and the direction of its narrative. Some of its features still remain under wraps, but with the recent release of Dragon Age: Absolution in the build up to the game's launch, fans are more than ready for Thedas' next chapter. However, it was a little concerning that the game's production director left before Dragon Age: Dreadwolf had even passed the finish line, particularly when the end of development is crucial for polishing the title as much as possible and bringing everything together as the years of development draw to a close.
Some feel as if BioWare games have had diminishing returns over the past few years, and the studio is very aware that the pressure is on to restore its reputation. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is a massive opportunity for the developer to establish itself once more as a market leader, but with such a notable person in the game's development leaving before it launches, it seems like Dragon Age: Dreadwolf's road to launch has been just as turbulent as fans feared. Even though the game is in its final stages, this doesn't mean Walters' departure won't have a measurable impact on the final product, which could lose some of the cohesion it would have had if it retained the same steady hand on the helm right up until work on the title wrapped.
Recent leaks seem to suggest that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is moving away from its traditional RPG roots, and this could be taken as more proof that the franchise is losing its way. With such a veteran leaving Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, it could be an indication that the development moved into more unfamiliar territory, or that it was going to take more risks and introduce more new elements than might be expected for a typical narrative-focused RPG from BioWare. Walters might not have been the right fit for this vision considering his "old guard" status, so his departure could leave the door open for newer perspectives and voices to emerge, but fans won't truly know the effect of this until the title launches.
The Influences On Dragon Age: Dreadwolf So Far
Walters' departure aside, it already seems like Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has been through the ringer when it comes to its development. By all accounts, the game has experienced some pretty major swerves over the years in terms of its structure and focus. Changing from single-player to online multiplayer to back again, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf's development could be categorized as a little messy. Some of the development team appeared to agree, with BioWare losing several senior developers and going through some staff turnover in the process that didn't help ease fan concerns.
This transition to multiplayer and back again is a clear side effect of Anthem's poor reception. BioWare's next two big games that players know are already on the way, Mass Effect 4 and Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, have reportedly been massively affected by how Anthem was received by fans, which could have meant delays as well as other complications. The majority of fans seemed pleased that the upcoming Dragon Age game was remaining true to its predecessors and aiming to deliver a story-driven single player experience, but the apparent indecisiveness hasn't helped fan confidence in the series' next entry. Expectations are already high, so BioWare really needs to deliver an exceptional title to help restore the faith of the gaming community in both the studio and its outputs, and Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is hopefully a big step toward achieving that.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is in development.