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BioWare hopes Dragon Age: The Veilguard brings the studio 'back into the conversation as a top game studio' after Anthem and Mass Effect Andromeda flops
Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare's latest RPG, has seen a turbulent development but is now receiving positive reviews and topping sales charts, potentially signaling a return to form for the studio after a string of setbacks.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is officially out in the wild, and BioWare is hoping its success will bring the studio back into the fans' good graces.
A new Bloomberg report details Dragon Age: The Veilguard's turbulent development, which saw the project go through two internal reboots, first from a single-player RPG to a live-service game and then back to the single-player RPG that ultimately released on Halloween. BioWare boss Gary McKay told Bloomberg "a lot of things started to fall into place" following the decision to ditch the live-service idea and go back to the studio's roots.
And then you have the BioWare layoffs that happened in August 2023, as well as reported internal delays, oh, and Covid-19 caused the studio to shift over to remote hiring, posing another hurdle for the studio to clear. It seems something of a minor miracle when you consider all of its headwinds that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is now in players' hands, and is getting pretty darn good reviews too.
GamesRadar+'s 4/5-star Dragon Age: The Veilguard review calls the game "a true return to RPG form for BioWare," praising the "captivating companions with rich arcs," the "action-oriented combat that's tough but fair," and the "catnip for lore nerds."
Meanwhile, the game is topping sales charts and breaking Steam records for the studio. All of this is likely music to McKay's ears, who's assuredly feeling the pressure to deliver a success following its one-two punch of disappointment with 2017's Mass Effect: Andromeda and 2019's failed shooter Anthem. Indeed, McKay said he hopes Dragon Age: The Veilguard will "bring BioWare back into the conversation as a top game studio."
Naturally, BioWare parent company EA is hoping the same, with CEO Andrew Wilson saying in a recent investors call that Dragon Age: The Veilguard has "breakout capabilities" due to "incredibly strong" reviews and "limited competition" in the AAA space.