BioWare general manager Gary McKay has published a blog post updating fans on the state of the company in 2022, reaffirming that Dragon Age 4 will be a single-player experience. McKay acknowledged that last year was difficult for the developer with the ongoing condition of the world, but he is proud of how BioWare has come together for it. He also reiterated that BioWare remains hard at work on the next chapters for both Mass Effect and Dragon Age for publisher EA.
Though he had nothing notable to share on the former, McKay spared a couple words about Dragon Age 4 and its single-player nature: “As for Dragon Age, we have a veteran group of talented developers working on the next iteration of the franchise. We are focused on a single-player experience that is built on choices that matter.”
A report from February 2021 had first indicated that Dragon Age 4 would be single-player, but this was apparently not always the plan. The report claimed it had originally planned to feature a live-service model, but EA was persuaded to let BioWare focus on a single-player experience after the success of single-player game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The failure of the big-budget live-service game Anthem likely also factored into the decision. Whatever the reason, fans are sure to be excited for the promise of a return to form.
McKay ultimately said that BioWare is committed to rebuilding its reputation as one of the leading RPG developers in the industry, and the studio has the full support of EA to deliver on the promise of a better BioWare.
“We are laser-focused on building back the trust of our fans and community, and we plan to do that by delivering the types of games that we are best known for and ensuring they are of the highest quality,” McKay said. “Our mission is to ‘Create worlds of adventure, conflict, and companionship that inspire you to become the hero of your story.’ We want the launch of our games to be seminal moments in the industry. We want each game to earn the kind of reaction we’ve seen with Mass Effect Legendary Edition.”
