Fans hoping for a swift follow-up to Dragon Age: The Veilguard should temper their expectations. Mark Darrah, a former producer for the long-running fantasy RPG series, recently stated he has little faith that another installment will reach development anytime soon.
Speaking in a recent interview with FRVR, Darrah described the current climate at publisher EA as a difficult environment for greenlighting new projects, even those tied to established intellectual properties. He noted that the disappointing sales performance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard—which contributed to a significant drop in EA's stock price following its launch—has left the series in a precarious position.
Internal Hurdles and Gatekeeping
Darrah highlighted a complex internal process at EA that makes pitching new games for dormant or existing IPs particularly challenging. He explained that any attempt to revive or continue a franchise often triggers opposition from multiple internal stakeholders who assert control over the property.
"The instant you're about to start, suddenly like three different people who think they control it come out of the woodwork and essentially like rip you apart and chew you up and spit you out."
According to Darrah, this gatekeeping extends to BioWare itself. He expressed doubt that anyone within the studio would currently pitch a new Dragon Age title, suggesting that any external attempts to propose a new game would likely be blocked by BioWare leadership to maintain control over the franchise.
A Growing List of Dormant Franchises
With BioWare currently focused on the Mass Effect series and executive-level hurdles preventing new pitches, Dragon Age now joins a list of other EA-owned properties that have remained dormant for extended periods. This list includes titles such as Need for Speed, Dead Space, Burnout, and Mirror's Edge.
For now, the series appears to be headed into a long period of inactivity, leaving the future of the franchise in doubt as EA navigates its current internal development processes.