The former head of Dragon Age believes that EA apparently has no idea what makes a good game. He finds drastic words.
That Dragon Age: The Veilguard has fallen short of the expectations of many fans is something that most people are now aware of. EA was also not satisfied with the sales figures and stated in the financial report of the last quarter that they were nearly 50% behind the expected sales.
However, the reasons provided by EA for this are seen by many as bizarre or simply absurd. This includes the former lead developer behind Dragon Age, who said: “If someone says something like that, […] I would quit.”
What has happened? A few days ago, EA presented the sales figures for the last quarter and stated that the newest installment of the Dragon Age series, The Veilguard, has fallen 50% short of expectations. The justification they found for this sounded quite curious to many fans. Because Andrew Wilson of EA said that players “increasingly want more multiplayer features in a shared world.” In other words: Dragon Age: The Veilguard was supposed to be a “service game” that would be continuously developed.
Several former BioWare employees also apparently could not let this stand and found sharp words in response.
What the former lead of Dragon Age says: Mike Laidlow was the Creative Director behind the entire Dragon Age series at the time. He found rather clear and drastic words regarding Wilson’s statements. Laidlow said (via pcgamer):
You know, I’m not a great CEO type, but if someone says to me: “The key to the success of this successful single-player IP is to turn the game into a pure multiplayer game. No, not a spin-off, but a change in the core DNA of what people love about this game,” then I would probably quit my job or something. I’m just thinking out loud here.
That’s pretty sharp, especially considering that Laidlow left the company at the exact moment when Dragon Age was set to head in the live-service direction. Laidlow adds:
Who would be stupid enough to demand such a thing? … Twice.
Other former BioWare employees also expressed their thoughts on the incident, such as David Gaider, who said (via pcgamer):
If I really stretch my empathy, I can understand the line of thought. I mean, let’s just say you don’t know much about games. You’re in a big office with a bunch of bosses who also don’t know much about games. What do they all say? “Live service games bring in big numbers! Live service games are hot!” […]
My advice to EA would be (not that they’d care): You have an IP that people love. Very much. At its peak, [Dragon Age] sold so well that you were happy with it, right? Look at what it did best at that time. Look at the lead of [Baldur’s Gate 3] and do it like that. The target audience is still there. And they are waiting.
Whether EA will learn from the words of the former BioWare employees and all the criticism that has arisen regarding the statements in the financial report remains to be seen – probably until the next game from BioWare, which will most likely be a new installment of the Mass Effect series.
