Bioware is largely focusing on Anthem, but the studio also has plans for a new Dragon Age game, according to a report from Kotaku and a tweet from Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah.
It’s been quite a few years since Bioware released Dragon Age: Inquisition, but the studio has now assured fans that it has new plans in store for the fantasy RPG series.
In a tweet posted by Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, he revealed that the company has developers “hard at work” on both Anthem and Dragon Age, with more news in store for the near future.
Related: Anthem has reportedly been delayed to 2019
Speculation first began after Darrah revealed that he is serving as executive producer for both Dragon Age and Anthem. And while chatting about showing EA an internal build for Anthem, he also dropped a hint about a new installment to the Dragon Age franchise.
“Anthem’s up next but there are people hard at work on both franchises and I look forward to sharing more in the future,” he explained in a tweet, leaving many to believe Dragon Age 4 is on the way.
An additional report from Kotaku’s Jason Schreier sheds more light into what’s going on internally over at Bioware. According to sources he spoke with, Bioware has turned into a “single-game studio” focusing on Ahtnem while small teams are “piecing together the next Dragon Age, which was recently rebooted.”
Not just that, but his sources say that Bioware’s future is essentially “tied” to Anthem. Three sources claim Anthem is now releasing in early 2019, not fall 2018, and that the game’s fall 2018 was “never realistic” in the first place. At the very least, EA is pushing to launch the game for March 2019 at the latest, according to the Kotaku report.
“Anthem has been in development since 2012,” Schreier explained. “The game remained in preproduction at Bioware’s lead Edmonton studio for a very long time. Some close to the Anthem team have criticized that fact, suggesting that the game’s development was floundering, but veteran Anthem staff point out that most big new franchises have long gestation periods.”
As for Anthem’s fate, so far it seems the game is shaping up well. During 2017, Bioware began staffing Anthem with more employees amid problems in 2014 and 2015 related to both using Frostbite and developing such an ambitious multiplayer project. But problems became more manageable as both Austin and Edmonton’s offices began working on the title, and more staff were added to the game. So in comparison, progress is coming along relatively well, Kotaku suggests.
As for Dragon Age 4, Schreier notes that the game will “still have a heavy focus on characters and story,” but will also feature more “live” elements into the game. It’s unclear what those will look like for now, and it may be some time until we learn specifics. But for now, Dragon Age fans can at least rest easy knowing that the franchise isn’t being put on the shelf
