There are two credible reports that Corinne Busche is leaving BioWare. She was the Game Director for the role-playing game Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Further rumors that EA plans to close the BioWare Edmonton studio, however, seem to be unfounded.
Where does the rumor come from? The rumor comes from an “anti-woke” YouTube channel. In this particular subscene of gaming, Dragon Age: The Veilguard has already become a symbol of everything bad before its release.
The YouTube channel reports that Corinne Busche is leaving BioWare and that EA plans to announce the closure of the studio at the next investor conference in February.
How credible is the rumor? Renowned journalist Jeff Grubb reports, citing sources (via X):
- Corinne Busche is indeed leaving BioWare
- He does not believe that EA will close the studio – he was told that there is no truth to that part of the rumor
The site Eurogamer has also confirmed that Busche is leaving BioWare next week. It is also stated here that this is the only change at BioWare Edmonton. The studio will remain unchanged, contrary to other rumors.
Who is Corinne Busche? Busche has been leading the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard since 2022 together with the Creative Director.
Before her work on the role-playing game, she was a designer at EA for 18 years and worked on games such as The Sims 3 and 4.
More woke than you think
Why is there such an uproar about The Veilguard? Dragon Age: The Veilguard has become part of the culture wars in the USA for various reasons.
Even before the release, in September 2024, influencers were outraged that there was an option in character creation to display surgical scars on the chest. This allowed players to signal that their character underwent gender reassignment surgery and had breasts removed.
It was criticized that such “real-life ideas” have no place in a fantasy world. Surely, everything could be done with magic.
When Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released, “overly woke” dialogues were criticized.
Apart from legitimate criticism of the game, especially from disappointed fans of earlier parts of the series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard came under constant fire from exactly those influencers who are now joyfully celebrating the new rumor. For them, Corinne Busche’s departure and the alleged closure of BioWare Edmonton is a cause for celebration. But apparently, only the first part of the news is true.
However, both Jeff Grubb and Eurogamer are only reporting from sources and apparently confidential conversations. They provide no official sources, and there is no reliable confirmation. In the MeinMMO review of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the German translation with neo-pronouns
was part of the criticism of the role-playing game: The latest Dragon Age in review: The Veilguard is the ideal Dragon Age for everyone who doesn’t know Dragon Age yet
