Bioware veteran and Dragon Age series producer Mark Darrah says he doesn’t see another Dragon Age game coming any time soon.
In an interview with FRVR, Darrah – who was at BioWare for 23 years and was executive producer on the Dragon Age series – was discussing the potential of another Dragon Age game being greenlit in the future.
Darrah explained that Dragon Age has likely been sidelined while BioWare works on its next Mass Effect game, and may end up lying dormant because of the way EA works when it comes to pitching new games using existing IP.
According to Darrah, numerous people believe they have ownership of certain IPs at EA, meaning when someone tries to pitch a game using those IPs they can be shot down.
“I have no concept of who could, would, possibly pitch [a new Dragon Age] at EA,” Darrah said. “EA owns a frightening number of IPs that are dormant.”
He added: “What I’ve heard is if you go and decide you’re going to make a [game based on an IP]… the instant you’re about to start, suddenly like three different people who think they control it come out of the woodwork and essentially rip you apart and chew you up and spit you out.”
“I suspect that it wouldn’t happen”
Because of this structure, Darrah believes the only people who could pitch a new Dragon Age would be BioWare, but “the problem is I don’t know who at BioWare would pitch a Dragon Age”.
“So the other option is somebody else within the EA organisation decides they’re gonna pitch a Dragon Age and, what I expect would happen if they try to do that, is somebody at BioWare would essentially become one of those people jumping under the vents to rip that person apart. I suspect that it wouldn’t happen for a variety of reasons.”
Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released in 2024 and was the first new game in the series in a decade, following 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition.
BioWare is currently working on a new Mass Effect game, which was announced back in December 2020. Last year Mass Effect executive producer Mike Gamble dispelled the suggestion that the project might be in trouble.
“Like you, we’ve heard the rumors lately,” he wrote. “You’ve made it clear you care deeply about what’s next. So let’s start by setting the record straight: the next Mass Effect game is in development, and EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe.”
Electronic Arts downsized BioWare in early 2025, following the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. With the next Mass Effect game not requiring “support from the full studio”, BioWare general manager Gary McKay said an unspecified number of BioWare staff had been transferred to other teams within its parent company EA.
