Bioware is closing. RIP Dragon Age...

[u/ErzherzogHinkelstein]

[u/RuairiJHB]

In war, victory. In peace, vigilance. In death, sacrifice

[u/Crpgdude090 → u/RuairiJHB]

they sacrificed too much of their soul.....and they were a shell of their former glory. It was ....inevitable

[u/RuairiJHB → u/Crpgdude090]

Enchantment?

[u/Lucid1219 → u/RuairiJHB]

Not Enchantment ☹️

[u/RuairiJHB → u/Lucid1219]

We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment... and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly

[u/notannabe → u/RuairiJHB]

Enchantment!

[u/shaggy_alpaca → u/Crpgdude090]

Enchantment

[u/alexandriaweb → u/RuairiJHB]

Toh kata, itwafesh 😭

I feel like I saw this coming ever since the takeover (and it feels obvious that EA wanted rid of Bioware even before that), but it's no less upsetting.

I hope EA sell the IPs rather than keeping them in limbo forever.

[u/GreyWardenAeducan]

Dragon Age kept me alive in my darkest moments… It hurts seeing this, but Dragon Age will live forever on in the hearts and memories of players who loved the series.

[u/GaelicBubble → u/GreyWardenAeducan]

Like I said somewhere else:
I would like to give one tiny kernel of hope to anyone who’s painfully optimistic like I am. And it’s that Fable is getting a new game in Feb 2027. Barring any wild cancellations.

Lionhead Studios closed 10 years ago and the Fable game they were working on was canceled. Anyone who liked those games can remember the terrible spinoffs and bad decisions regarding the last few games related to its series. Many people seemed to attribute these bad choices to Microsoft purchasing the studio and interfering in development in the same way I see griping about EA. (I gripe too no judgement)

But a new Fable game is due to be released in Feb 2027, even if it’s a reboot of the series. Whether or not it will retain the same or similar charm as the originals? I don’t know, but the original studio fumbling multiple games towards the end and then getting closed didn’t doom Fable.

So maybe BioWare closing won’t necessarily doom Dragon Age or Mass Effect.

[u/Malinkowa26 → u/GaelicBubble]

[u/kezfx → u/GaelicBubble]

Good point, we have to see in Feb how that pays off though

[u/tybbiesniffer → u/GaelicBubble]

Telltale is getting a new game too. 🤞

[u/awjeezohcrap → u/GaelicBubble]

Thank you I needed that!

[u/Silly_Explanation_ → u/GreyWardenAeducan]

I got into the franchise only recently and it has kept my spirits up during flares of my chronical illnesses😭

[u/OhMisterBelpit → u/GreyWardenAeducan]

Same, DAI it got me through the last phase of a relationship and it is still my comfort game that I play when I'm in a low.
I'll never stop returning to it.

[u/RogueSiren108 → u/OhMisterBelpit]

DAI is one of the few games I’ve played all the way through to the end, and I’ve beat it multiple times because it is a comfort game and also provides me with kind of a mental/emotional reset when I need it and have the time. I’m currently playing through it again because I’m at a transition point in my life and it’s helping get me deal with the holding pattern I’ve been stuck in.

[u/Ambitious-Night-4153 → u/OhMisterBelpit]

Same

[u/MadamButtercup623 → u/OhMisterBelpit]

It’s actually the exact same for me. I went through a horrible breakup in 2014 and DAI became my comfort game because it made me feel so incredibly safe at a time I really needed it the most. I still remember playing it in my dorm room, lights all turned off, and feeling like I was home.

[u/glebo123 → u/GreyWardenAeducan]

Same.

I went through a nasty separation followed by the initial 9 week covid lockdowns. I was forced to sit at home and stare at the wall while dealing with the stresses of everything.

DAI got me through it and kept me sane.

[u/KirkwallChampion → u/GreyWardenAeducan]

Same. After the DA team's closure -- not to mention the past decade -- this announcement seemed inevitable, but it's sad nonetheless. As you say, it will live on. And /r/dragonage remains one of the best subs on Reddit and I'm glad to be here with you all. 🥰

[u/Lucid1219 → u/GreyWardenAeducan]

Same for me , I feel like it kept me alive

[u/HomarEuropejski]

I knew this was coming, but man... I guess we really are never getting Jade Empire 2.

[u/PepperBeef2Spicy → u/HomarEuropejski]

Jade Empire’s strongest fan right here, I respect that. It really did a lot have a lot of unexplored potential since Jade Empire itself is so short

[u/drzzazz1 → u/HomarEuropejski]

Been dreaming about JE2 for 2 decades....

[u/lysgravlund → u/HomarEuropejski]

Yeah, this fucking hurts right here. The final nail in the coffin to my last shred of hope for JE2

[u/Almainyny → u/HomarEuropejski]

At least Jade Empire in Style still exists. That’s about the closest we’ll get.

[u/ZombieMcQueen]

My biggest worry about this is dragon age keep, what are the odds the site goes down?

[u/Bubbleslou → u/ZombieMcQueen]

I also thought about this too- I really enjoy using the Keep… 😭

[u/imaginmatrix → u/Bubbleslou]

I’m kinda wondering if someone would be able to create a more accessible mod or dupe for PC players at least?

As for console, likely SOL, but with the recent ps5 jailbreak stuff I wonder if it’s possible for someone to create a save editor app for the game. I am not familiar with the capabilities, but people have been doing truly incredible stuff

[u/BLAGTIER → u/imaginmatrix]

I’m kinda wondering if someone would be able to create a more accessible mod or dupe for PC players at least?

Already possible with save editors.

As for console, likely SOL,

That's the big impact. The Keep was the only way to do imports on consoles.

[u/AlsoIHaveAGroupon → u/imaginmatrix]

I wonder if there's a pi hole type solution to run a Keep instance locally, intercept the console's DNS request to the real/defunct Keep, and redirected to the local Keep.

That would take some reverse engineering, and would require spending ~$50 and only accessible to technically inclined users. But probably easier than jailbreaking if some intrepid person/people figure the hard parts out (unfortunately, I am not clever enough to do that, nor do I have a console to try it if I was).

[u/Cautious-Gain-3334 → u/Bubbleslou]

I think there's a fan version of this, no? If not, I'm sure there will be.

[u/SlipperySlimyTerry40 → u/Cautious-Gain-3334]

Just save editors

[u/Bubbleslou → u/SlipperySlimyTerry40]

For PC that’s easy- but people on console will lose out surely? Or it will be much more difficult…

[u/cherrrycris → u/Bubbleslou]

At this point I think those of us on console should be making new save files now with any world states we might want to play with in the future😭

[u/Ghost-Music → u/cherrrycris]

Yeah that’s what I’m doing. Time consuming but I want to play with more world states. I’m gonna download each into Inquistion and make a quick Inky so I have the state saved

[u/elleisonreddit → u/Cautious-Gain-3334]

The issue with doing a fan version of dragon age keep is they have to find a way to make it get through the EA app that verifies everything. There’s a thing called NO EA or something but there isn’t a dragon age keep thing to go with it

[u/DKLancer → u/elleisonreddit]

I imagine it'd just directly change the worldstate info much like frosty mod manager modifies the data files.

[u/Bubbleslou → u/Cautious-Gain-3334]

There was a person I saw on this subreddit that was working on an offline version! I wonder what they think of this news.

[u/Plums4 → u/Bubbleslou]

Fortunately I actually really like the Origins default worldstate of f!Mahariel who sacrificed herself, with a King Alistair. Like, that's an actual playthrough I've done and really appreciate as a narrative. But it's not my canon warden, and that SUCKS if the ability to import my personal canon warden is gone forever. 

Hawke, I'm not as attached to, so it's whatever, but I am a bit bitter if f!Hawke is gone forever. 

[u/Talisa87 → u/ZombieMcQueen]

Very high, unfortunately. PC users can tweak their world state with your standard save state editor, but non-PC players are SoL

[u/Plums4 → u/ZombieMcQueen]

This is also my main concern. I mean, I'll play a default DAI file if I have to, but ugh. 

[u/DefiantBrain7101 → u/Plums4]

the thought of no kieran forever makes me so sad :(

[u/NiskaHiska → u/Plums4]

You can edit it with a save editor, though it's not a great experience

[u/Plums4 → u/NiskaHiska]

I unfortunately can't because I'm on console. sigh

[u/OkActivity2038 → u/NiskaHiska]

I suppose someone might be able to make a replica website to generate saves.

[u/Alunkkar → u/Plums4]

That's so depressing, default state is obviously like... the most bland, uninteresting state possible... honestly borderline unplayable for me.

[u/BLAGTIER → u/ZombieMcQueen]

what are the odds the site goes down?

100%. It isn't a simple site and needs rebooting and updates. If it isn't part of a Bioware website shutdown then one day something will break and it will go down and no one at EA will restart it.

[u/tevert → u/ZombieMcQueen]

I'm surprised it's not down already

[u/Weak_Concentrate9267 → u/ZombieMcQueen]

I think it already has. I wanted to start a new playthrough of DA, but during character creation it only gives me the default world state.

[u/RufinTheFury]

RIP to one of the greatest studios ever.

My core Triple A gaming memories as a teen were largely shaped by the Four Bs: Bioware, Bethesda, Blizzard, and Bungie. Now two are dead, Blizzard became Activision, and somehow Todd has survived the longest. Incredible.

[u/HappyTrillmore → u/RufinTheFury]

Todd living off the clout of a 17 year old game is hilarious

[u/TheLunakuu → u/HappyTrillmore]

Skyrim gets a lot of flack now but it really is one of the most impactful games of all time to be fair

[u/Aetheer]

I know it's been dying for a while now, but doesn't make it any easier to hear. Dragon Age and Mass Effect are such an important part of my gaming identity, and it'll be a little more bittersweet when I do my next playthroughs

[u/bukhrin]

Holy fuck, and N7 day is just two weeks away

[u/SlipperySlimyTerry40 → u/bukhrin]

Maybe we'll get some.leaks from a former dev about what ME4 could've been lol

[u/Dragon_Emperor3]

I am sad. We will miss you.

[u/A_Rolling_Baneling → u/Dragon_Emperor3]

We waited 10 years for a sequel. It came out and essentially had nothing to do with the stories established by our choices in the first three games. Then the studio shuts down.

I mean if you told me this is how it would go down back after finishing DAI, I would assume you were making a cruel joke.

Dragon Age had potential to be the GOAT high fantasy video game franchise. The lore was exceptional. There were so many moving pieces. I wanted nothing more than to see how everything unfolded.

Now Bioware is dead, and the game is going out on a whimper. It should've been a triumph. What a bummer, to put it mildly

[u/PrinceDarkkon]

Growing up, I was never much of a gamer. I barely had any access to it.

But I liked being in touch with this medium, always watching gameplays on youtube way before the beggining of gaming streams, and picked up a few titles I would like to try if the chance ever presented itself.

One of them that really caught my eye was Dragon Age: Inquisition.

In 2019, when i was already in college, I bought my first really good laptop because of my studies. And so, I also intended to use it to see if games were really my thing.

Then, my screen blew up for the first time as Corypheus attacked the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Barely I knew that my world would change forever as well.

I remember how invested I was, and how I felt myself on the shoes of the Herald, seeing Haven burn around me, and not being able to save anyone on that first playthrough. How I stumbled on the snow, how the tears rolled down my face when I first heard "The Dawn Will Come".

It was right then and there that I first realized that games were more than a way of fun or entertainment, but also a form of art, and a valid and awesome way to tell stories.

I played it again and again, and it carried me through the dark days of my early 20s. It was a really important step on the path that led me to understand myself as gay. As I healed Dorian's relationship with his father, I was also healing my inner self at last.

All that said, I'm deeply saddened by the news today. The gaming world is, bit by bit, becoming colder and less wondrous.

I really want to thank all the people on Bioware for working hard on crafting all these marvelous worlds, characters and stories.

Your work changed my life forever.

Keep to the stars, the dawn will come.

[u/Passenger_1978 → u/PrinceDarkkon]

Thanks for sharing this, good that games like DAI helped you, I always liked it how they were positive towards themes like being gay.

[u/time_travel_nacho → u/PrinceDarkkon]

I remember the absolute awe and wonder I felt the first time I played Mass Effect and the citadel came into view with that brilliant orchestral score. I've been chasing that feeling ever since

[u/Additional_Eye8714 → u/PrinceDarkkon]

Wow this brought tears to my eyes, I need to do another Inquisition playthrough

[u/nuclear_muffins]

I'll miss Bioware, but I feel like it's more the Bioware that existed from 2000-2015 and made all the games I loved and cherished. EA killed it and has been dragging around its corpse for the past decade.

[u/sleepwalkingninja]

No Mass Effect is even worse. They never should have sold themselves to EA. Hopefully EA sells the IPs because it's clear they have no interest in either DA or ME at this point (especially after being bought by the shitty ass Saudi's and Kushner).

[u/GladiusLegis → u/sleepwalkingninja]

They didn't even sell Ultima. They sure as fuck aren't gonna let anyone have DA or ME for any price.

[u/va_wanderer → u/GladiusLegis]

Although shortly, Ultima reverts to Garriot.

[u/GladiusLegis → u/va_wanderer]

EA bought BioWare in 2007, so the same 35-year copyright reversion law means maybe the Doctors get Dragon Age and Mass Effect back in 2042?

(Yeah, pure copium, I know.)

[u/ElBurritoLuchador → u/GladiusLegis]

Nah, the Saudis bought EA with a leveraged buyout. EA is in a lot of debt due to that. They're gonna sell those IPs in the future.

[u/pundromeda]

Dragon Age was already dead last year when they laid off or reassigned the entire staff that had been working on Veilguard. This is just the nail in the coffin.

[u/PuckishRogue00]

And so is the Golden City blackened With each step you take in my Hall. Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting. You have brought Sin to Heaven And doom upon all the world. -Threnodies 8:13

[u/Beacon2001]

Dragon Age can still outlive BioWare. EA holds the rights to Dragon Age and they can hopefully sell it to a studio that will treat it better than BioWare. Perhaps all is not lost. /copium

[u/eskeigh → u/Beacon2001]

EA refused to sell the IP of American McGee’s Alice series back to him. There’s an even less of a chance they sell the IP of DA to anyone…

[u/Pedrolopesg → u/eskeigh]

EA is not EA anymore though, it has been bought

[u/Choomba_Roomba → u/eskeigh]

I get viscerally upset by this at least once a year. Like you're not even TOUCHING the IP or using it, just hand it to someone that will.

[u/ozmega → u/eskeigh]

this one pisses me off.

[u/Secret_Competition54 → u/ozmega]

Just wanted to chime in by saying: don't hope that the IP will be sold to anyone. The money EA would want for it is too big for anyone to afford as part of their dev costs. It will die and rot, its corpse pushing up Saudi / Kushner owned EA's evaluation by a measly 20 million or so dollars. This is the end.

[u/sans_serif_size12 → u/eskeigh]

I swear once a year for the last 15 years I’m reminded what happened with American McGee’s Alice and just get mad all over again. 

[u/literallybyronic → u/Beacon2001]

You mean like they did with Ultima?

[u/Watton → u/literallybyronic]

Well.... there's some hope

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/richard-garriott-is-officially-regaining-control-of-the-ultima-series/

[u/literallybyronic → u/Watton]

OHHHH??????

[u/VexHafid → u/Beacon2001]

I'd really like that, but considering its EA, I doubt it will ever happen

[u/ErzherzogHinkelstein → u/VexHafid]

Well, the reason they didn't sell IPs was that, as a publicly traded company, hoarding IPs makes your company more valuable, as in higher stock value. Now that the company has been converted to a private company, they might consider selling IPs.

If we're unlucky, they might decide that they'd still like to keep the IPs to leverage them for loans, for example. But I think something as hard to realistically value as an IP might not be that great an asset to leverage with banks in general... so maaaaybe?

The bigger question is whether there's someone who wants the IP. The obvious contenders all either have their own IPs, like Larian, who are currently working on their Divinity franchise (though they'd be the most fitting inheritors of the DA IP, since their big breakout role was with BioWare's other IP, Baldur's Gate, and they had pretty good relations with the now-defunct studio).

But generally, I wouldn't get my hopes up.

[u/HomarEuropejski → u/VexHafid]

Didn't the Saudis gift them with a huge ass debt? They could sell Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Dead Space etc. to pay off some of it.

[u/Itz_Hen → u/HomarEuropejski]

If that was the case it would have been more profitable to just sell the whole studio + the IPs in a bundled deal

[u/F0restWhispersMyName → u/Itz_Hen]

their liveservice games bring shitloads of money though, why sell it?

[u/AbsolutelyHorrendous → u/HomarEuropejski]

Given how long they've basically been willing to sit on Dead Space and do fuck all with it, I don't have a lot of faith in this

[u/yocxl → u/Beacon2001]

I mean I've assumed it was dead basically since Veilguard came out so if nothing happens, that's exactly what I expected anyway.

In the unlikely event they sell it it'll be a pleasant surprise.

[u/Stormelons → u/Beacon2001]

Honestly i'm just hoping EA gets a studio to remaster Origins, 2 & Inquisition into a trilogy which would sell amazingly and well make sense since choices still actually mattered lol

[u/Geosaurusrex → u/Stormelons]

From what I remember Origins is pretty much not remasterable due to the engine

[u/CatchPhraze → u/Beacon2001]

The first most valuable thing you can do with an IP is sell versions yourself.

The second is to vault it to prevent competition from making any money off it.

Capitalism is just an arms race.

[u/theevilyouknow → u/Beacon2001]

You gotta let go. I just hope someone will make games in the future in a similar style and spirit. There will almost certainly never be another Dragon Age though.

[u/ElDudeIV → u/Beacon2001]

They don’t sell IPs. They will let them sit forever because maybe one day they can profit off it.

[u/AbsolutelyHorrendous → u/Beacon2001]

As much as I'd love to believe that... Dragon Age is part of what killed Bioware. I know there was a lot of very unhelpful corporate intrusion from EA that didn't help, but Veilguard took so long to develop that it basically needed to be a smash hit to make up for it. Instead, the game sold poorly, the trailers did nothing to bring in new players, and a lot of the existing fanbase found it very disappointing.

Mass Effect maybe has a chance to get something else going, hell even KOTOR has the Star Wars brand going for it... but the biggest sin Veilguard committed is that it basically ended the Dragon Age story. The story is finished, and it was a disaster, I really cannot see any studio clamouring to bring it back.

[u/pothkan → u/Beacon2001]

Doubtful.

First, the price for any of these franchises will be ridiculously high (ME more), unless EA is really pushed to the wall and forced to sale whatever possible.

Second, why would someone buy it, instead of focusing on setting of their own?

[u/Jayken]

Just saw that. Kinda knew it was coming. Still sad about it. Fuck EA.

[u/siccoblue → u/Jayken]

EA: Ending (works of) Art

[u/Twinblade96]

There goes my fleeting hopes of a Dragon Age Legendary Edition

[u/DezyisDead]

Rip to Dragon Age, my condolences to those who lost their jobs to the evils ceos.

[u/beastcake → u/DezyisDead]

Yes. Swooping...is...bad.

[u/thepurplewhiskers]

I am genuinely so heartbroken 💔 Grew up with Dragon Age and this is just devastating news. Fuck EA.

[u/esqDumper]

From the moment I played Origins back in 2012 until September 2024, Mass Effect and, even more so, Dragon Age were what kept me mentaly afloat. I swear to God, there were years when I thought about my fictional family while working irl, and those daydreams were the only thing keeping me going.

So... it was expected, but still so damn sad. Time to mourn. I will never forget you, my love.

[u/Apprehensive_Quality]

Wow. I knew it would happen eventually, but wow. This is insane.

[u/mcxtx]

Man :/ this really sucks. Dragon age and BioWare has meant a lot to me since 2009.

The writing has kinda been on the wall but I was really holding out hope for ME5.

Rest in peace, BioWare, and thank you to all the writers and devs who created such wonderful characters and worlds.

[u/Aquitaine_Rover_3876]

Not shocking. Many years after announcing ME5, there's been no signs of serious development. Hopefully they sell the IP to someone who will do something (ideally something good) with it.

[u/trapphd]

Not entirely surprising, but still ... surreal.

[u/Lucid1219]

This is so sad!! Dragon Age origins was my favorite game ever! And after veilguard I gave up on another dragon age and I was so sad ! I remember as a kid finding Dragon Age origins in a 20$ and below box in GameStop ! And I was like tf is this ugly looking game but it was so cheap ! Like 5$ that I decided to get it cause I could !! I didn’t know I was gonna fall in love with it so much ! That it would be my favorite game ever ! That it would let me to Mass Effect 2 my 2nd favorite game !

And that it would help me live ! Because I would think I can’t die ! I at least want to play the next Dragon Age ! If I die now I won’t be able to play the next one !

I had given up hope on Dragon age after veilguard and I was so sad ! But I had hope at least I would get mass effect and now even that is gone ! And it sucks so much! I hate these companies and how they forgot their essence and why they became so beloved …

I hate where gaming is going where it’s just let’s see how much money we can squeeze of its reales or a live service with monetization ! It doesn’t matter if we make a good game what matters is that it sells a lot on launch or that we add a lot of micro transactions

[u/AntonChekov1 → u/Lucid1219]

I remember a wise old lady in a deep, dark forest once telling me "All good things must come to an end." 

[u/HomemAranha-]

RIP. It was one of the greatest ever, almost no one comes close to the level of quality they had in 90s and 2000.

[u/Daniel27DS]

As someone who has Dragon Age and Mass Effect as their all-time favorite video game series, this is very sad to read.

[u/Kooky_Bodybuilder_97]

every franchise ea touches dies. the sims is too a shell of its former self they just have a large player base and a killer constant money making ploy with the expansions. rip my sweet prince

[u/yankees071]

That really sucks. Some of my favorite games of all time were from Bioware. Who can take the mantle and do a great job with their IP's? Obsidian and Larian come to mind. Rebel Wolves did a great job with BOD. I hope EA can turn it around (they won't), but I would love to see Mass Effect and Dragon Age make a big comeback.

[u/aduecan]

Honestly expected, sad that Veilguard was the last Dragon Age the series deserved a better end. 

[u/CaptainAnaAmari]

This was a long time coming but god does it still fucking hurt to see this. Thank you for everything.

[u/serpentear]

Dragon Age died with Veilguard. Hopefully they sell the IP to someone who gives a fuck about it—but I doubt it.

[u/Helpful-Way-8543]

Well, that's not surprising. The last year has just been a quiet death knell.

New tiresome cope is now officially on the board: the IP will be sold to someone else -- yup, definitely.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to more independent game studios that hopefully will see and learn from BioWare to never sell out and it's always beneficial to never enshitify your brand.

[u/train153]

A friend who is now passed introduced me to the series and I fell in love with it.

I kind of became jaded after 10 year and then Veilguard, but I still hold a lot of love for DA in my heart.

Here's to you, Jeremy, you were a real one, and Here's to you Bioware, you brought me a lot of joy.

[u/jdizzlewolf]

RIP. Big part of my childhood growing up.

[u/LangeNox]

I too also believe that the Veilguard was the final nail in the coffin. RIP Bioware, I will always cherish the good memories of you. Now I want to start an Origins playthrough on the Halloween weekend.

[u/SlipperySlimyTerry40 → u/LangeNox]

3 strikes you're out. 3 expensive failures in a row, I was surprised this didn't happen within a couple months after VG flopped hard

[u/AbsolutelyHorrendous → u/SlipperySlimyTerry40]

Honestly its a testament to how well the Mass Effect trilogy and the first three Dragon Age games did that they managed to survive Anthem

[u/Powerful_Document872 → u/LangeNox]

I just can’t believe we’re ending things with Veilguard. What a bitter and embarrassing final note.

[u/prsquared]

This is not necessarily a bad thing. I've been playing bioware games since the kotor days and it's fair to say they've lost their identity in the past decade or more under EA. Maybe someone else can pick up these IPs and do it the due diligence. But the thing is EA is known for not letting anyone else profit from their successful IPs so they might just shelve it indefinitely.

Bottom line, we were never getting a new Dragon age, so it's better if we remember Bioware for 30 odd years of content. The chances of a dragon age game happening went lower, but the chances of a better dragon age game went higher if you know what I mean.

[u/rukh999 → u/prsquared]

I could see them handing Mass Effect over to a different internal studio, but I think Dragon Age is likely the big rip. Mass Effect fans are still hopeful and they've spent money on marketing for a new game, but I think Veilguard probably put the nail in the coffin on Dragon Age unfortunately. And I still kind of liked Veilguard, but it wasn't recieved well.

[u/Savings_Dot_8387 → u/prsquared]

It’s bad for the staff. Honestly Dragon Age and Mass Effect were already over though 

[u/arkhamtheknight → u/prsquared]

It's unlikely EA is gonna let someone else touch the IP. They will probably just bury everything and never talk about them again.

[u/ssgtgriggs → u/prsquared]

unfortunately this isn't really a THQ situation where the whole publisher went down, so the IPs were up for sale. this is just BioWare closing and most of these IPs BioWare wasn't the owner of anyway. EA owns these IPs. And EA is sadly not going anywhere. Whether they choose to do something with these IPs or just sit on them time will tell.

[u/I-need-a-cooler-name]

Been a follower since Origins launched and it shaped my expectations of what an RPG can be. DA2 was disappointing but I can't say Kirkwall didn't grow on me...like a fungus.

Inquisition had its highs, lows and valleys but I can certainly say that first playthrough was like lightning in a bottle. I just couldn't get enough.

The less said on Veilguard the better.

Between the wait time of all these games, I always feared this would happen. Now that it has, I can't say I'm sad, just disappointed. Perhaps because it wasn't new lands and adventures I craved but my old friends, knowing how much of an impact my characters made in their lives and they in mine.

In War, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice.

[u/Pochaccostan]

weve been hearing the death rattle for years but it still hurts

[u/Talenthy]

My heart breaks for the wonderful things we'll never receive because of this closure.

[u/Mean_Soup2928]

Genuinely hard to feel sad.

Good BW games are a thing so long past even the memories are becoming a remembrance of a remembrance.

And since I know the a lot of the comments here will pretend it's solely EA's fault and they killed Bioware, etc. I have to say, anyone commenting this is part of the problem. EA is a indeed a soulless company that unfairly killed so many studios, whose policies have made gaming as a hobby and as an industry worse, but if you can't see BW's fault in this then you have contributed to their doom.

The developers themselves shifted away from their core audience in pursuit of general appeal, they abandoned RPG roots, they chose safe and bland storytelling over choices and challenges and their poor handling of their beloved worlds led to customer apathy.

Bioware used to be THE reference for CRPGs, the tip of the spear in the genre, but when CRPGs were making their return, they closed off their eyes and decided that nobody wanted to play old school RPGs and instead generic action-adventure with increasingly poorer roleplay experiences were the real money makers. Well, we see where that led.

I've mourned Bioware a long time, this news isn't even the final nail, it's a light breeze over the tombstone .

[u/AbsolutelyHorrendous → u/Mean_Soup2928]

As much as it sucks to say it, I agree with you.

The Mass Effect Trilogy and the first three Dragon Age games were amazing, and as much as it can be divisive, Inquisition is one of my favourite games of all time, I played the shit out of it when it first came out... but that was twelve years ago. Mass Effect 3 was even longer. They haven't had an outright success story for well over a decade.

When Veilguard came out, I knew it was over. The fact that they tried desperately to explain so many of the unanswered questions of Thedas lore in as scattershot a manner as possible was the warning sign that this was the end for Dragon Age, but with Veilguard falling on its ass and Anthem being a total disaster, it was always going to be difficult for Bioware to survive.

[u/AdComplete5101 → u/AbsolutelyHorrendous]

Exactly this. I already was pretty confident about where the lore was going and there was an ounce of satisfaction knowing I got a good chunk of it right, but the delivery was so mediocre with the whole roundtable discussion of every revelation that I became so despondent by the end.

[u/EpicPhail60 → u/Mean_Soup2928]

They haven't been the studio I loved for a very long time, but part of being acquired means that when EA tells you to make mass-appeal, live service slop catered to the lowest common denominator, you don't have too much of a say in the matter except leaving, which many employees did.

The line between Bioware's own boneheaded creative decisions and them acquiescing to EA's mandates gets blurry from the outside perspective, but I imagine many of the mistakes you're bringing up were not things they did fully out of their own desire.

[u/sugarsnapsea]

BW games haven't been the same for a long, long time.

But Dragon Age was the first gaming franchise I truly fell in love with, I still have tons of appreciate for it.

It's a shame, I think BW had a heavy hand in their undoing. I'm sad we'll never see them get back to form, I wasn't confident we would but I wanted to remain hopeful.

Dragon Age Origins got me through some dark times as a teenager, one of my forms of escapism. For that, thank you BW. I'm really grateful 🥺

[u/_kisis]

I'm going to cry.

[u/Cautious_Glove9790]

Veilguard wasn’t for me. But Dragon Age/ Mass Effect literally got me through my darkest moments. This is heartbreaking but not surprising. So many good memories with great characters. Will never forget them.

[u/TheLunakuu]

The sad part is people are going to say Veilguard killed BioWare when Veilguard was a symptom of EA's interference killing every Dragon Age game's potential since DA2

[u/Sabor117 → u/TheLunakuu]

The thing is, both can be true.

Bioware had three complete flops since Inquisition (which, as an aside, was their best-selling game ever, so the DA2 thing doesn't really hold water thee) and if you ask me it was also a downhill slope of quality.

This comes from a mix of both EA's interference but then also just extremely poor mismanagement and decisions by Bioware's own leadership.

The company was on a downhill slope for years and Veilguard was really just the final nail in the coffin.

[u/TheLunakuu → u/Sabor117]

Oh Veilguard certainly didn't save BioWare in any capacity, I just see it touted as killing the company for its wokeness as if BioWare hadn't been floundering its releases since Andromeda. I just hate seeing Dragon Age be the lightning rod for the hate as if Anthem & ME weren't also dipping

[u/Isilkarmeo_ → u/TheLunakuu]

Being "woke" is not the problem with Veilguard, which is in fact the less progressive da game if you look in depth, and I hate people thinking otherwise because of bigots. I'm non binary and never had such a disappointment in my life considering a beloved media such as I had with Veilguard and I don't consider it canon because most of it, such as the crow suddenly being justice warriors, all elves being atheistic, venatori worshipping elven gods, and so on, absolutely don't make sense. Not because non binary people, like me, exist.

[u/xivinux → u/Isilkarmeo_]

Everything was wrong with veilguard except gameplay. It's been 12 years since Bioware's last good game. Andromeda was meh, Anthem was fun for 2 hours and Veilguard I played for 80 hours finished it but the story was so bad and forgetable. No impact like Origins or Inquisition had on me. Their shutdown was long overdue

[u/Pro-bone-oh → u/Isilkarmeo_]

Saying veilguard is less progressive is being completely dishonest.

Dragon age has always been inclusive regarding portrayals of characters of various sexualities, identities, etc. but those portrayals were always grounded in the world of the game.

The scene with taash and their mother, for instance, felt like I was watching a conversation in a Starbucks in Portland Oregon and not a house somewhere in Thedas. They painted a thin veneer of dragon age over complex real world social and cultural issues without even the shadow of an attempt at allegory or metaphor.

[u/remmanuelv → u/Isilkarmeo_]

The writing around the "woke" themes is just cringe. You can do progressive well like BG3 or Cyberpunk or bad like DAV. It's time to accept there weren't good writers left at Bioware.

[u/pothkan → u/TheLunakuu]

Unpleasant truth is that BioWare is as much responsible for what happened, as EA. There's plenty of stories of huge mismanagement and chaotic moves inside the studio, with no interference from EA. Heck, maybe it would survive if taken on shorter leash. We'll never know.

Best example is how easily BioWare abandoned support of Andromeda (which could be something great with post-release changes and DLC). Yes, it was officially EA decision, but it's already known BioWare was already crazy about moving forward to Anthem. And we all know how it ended.

[u/TheLunakuu → u/pothkan]

One of the former DA writers talks about that on Twitter or Bluesky often I think (I don't use those sites so not sure who). Apparently BioWare always had odd priorities especially when it came to writers.

[u/withateethuh → u/TheLunakuu]

The dragon age team also generally got less resources and support than mass effect team. But I do think it was gaider that said there was often what felt like contempt for the writing staff in general.

[u/Similar-Arugula-7854 → u/TheLunakuu]

If there is a game to blame that has to be Anthem

[u/eshior → u/TheLunakuu]

Why would it be sad? Veilguard is the perfect example of everything what was wrong with current bioware and EA. Inquisition was the last financial successful game that they made. It's impressive that EA kept this studio for so long.

[u/bittertonic_drops]

Dar'eth shiral...

[u/Bulky-Camel9925]

I'm heartbroken 💔 somehow I really thought they would at least give us a new Mass Effect game.

[u/Scribblr]

They died the day EA bought them out 

[u/literallybyronic → u/Scribblr]

they knew what they were doing when they did. EA had literally just finished doing this exact same shit to Origin Systems. they signed their own death warrant.

[u/msh53]

Hopefully some other studio can buy the rights and carry on making the games we love

[u/Nother1BitestheCrust → u/msh53]

EA operates like a hedge fund. They hoard dead IPs because it makes their stock value higher. A sale is really really unlikely.

[u/SlipperySlimyTerry40 → u/Nother1BitestheCrust]

EA isn't that EA anymore, they're owned by Saudi private equity and were purchased in a leveraged buyout with lots of debt. I think the chances are higher these days they might sell off valuable defunct IP's.

[u/Dantia_SWE]

In a parallell universe Larian buys the Dragon Age IP and resuscitates the franchise by remaking DAO.

Alas.

[u/PlayGroundbreaking57 → u/Dantia_SWE]

By making a proper sequel to tresspasser and throwing Veilguard away from canon out completly without even touching on it

[u/JJapster]

Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Kotor, Jade Empire...F

[u/Delyrium_]

I’m not surprised but I can’t say that I’m not disappointed.

[u/Professional-Eye-540]

I'm currently playing Baldur's Gate 1 and just finished a run of DA:O, DA2 and DAI this spring/summer. I am so into their lore and worrlds and games that this really made me feel quite sad.

Dragon Age: Origins opened up a new world for me. I will never forget what impact it had on me and my life, even to this day.

RIP BioWare.

[u/Smart_Resist615]

The highs were high and the lows were low. RIP a legendary Canadian studio.

[u/KyuubiGaming433]

Fuck EA.

[u/Inhabitsthebed]

Damn, will they sell the ip? Id no faith in them after veilguard but dragon age as a franchise is too good to just not do anything with.

[u/ForestChampagne → u/Inhabitsthebed]

They will probably just sit on it, but that's sucks because both DA and ME has so much potential

[u/FetusGoesYeetus → u/Inhabitsthebed]

If and only if EA gets into some crazy financial trouble and needs to sell IPs to make a profit. Otherwise they will sit on the IP and do nothing.

[u/ulape00]

Given the text of what was released by BioWare themselves, it's unfortunately not a surprise. The studio hasn't released a good new game (or even a successful one - the Mass Effect Legendary Edition literally being the only bright spot in an otherwise dark recent resume) since Inquisition over a decade ago. The lede is that the new Mass Effect was still in early development six full years after announcing they were doing it!

The lack of progress plus the significant underperformance of Veilguard had the unfortunate but entirely predictable result we are seeing today. EA completely lost confidence in them as a studio, and much as everyone justifiably likes to rag on the Evil Empire, it's hard to say it was the wrong call.

[u/Androecian]

Well, shit.

[u/L1minallyL0st]

Damn, I still remember when I first played inquisition in my dad's house one summer afternoon. It got me through a lot of hard times. Very sad.

[u/ConfidentAd1955]

I was really hoping to get that one more Mass Effect. I'm pretty sad about this.

[u/ADHD-isaster]

Their own samn fault sadly.

[u/norethor]

It's not the same company now that I fell in love with more than fifteen years ago, but man, if this isn't making me sad.

[u/cvzmir]

A little copium, but Larian Studios picking up the laid off devs to restart either Mass Effect or Dragon Age. Talk about an easy win

[u/_Hym → u/cvzmir]

Larian Studios picking up the laid off devs

Yeeeaah, let’s not do that, please.

[u/UnholyN7 → u/cvzmir]

That would be pretty cool but could Larian make a game like that? Im only familiar with Baldurs gate 3 and while its fantastic its definitely a different style of gameplay.

[u/foggynotion__07 → u/UnholyN7]

I’m going to be honest, if they decide to make a turn based dragon age game that would be completely fine with me. I don’t necessarily think I would want that for Mass Effect but I mean I’m sure it would be fun

[u/cvzmir → u/UnholyN7]

BioWare made the original. And I think they’d smash a DA game out the park

[u/GotsomeTuna → u/cvzmir]

Larian has a solid studio going already, picking up devs from a dead studio that hasn't made a good game in so long probably isn't their priority.

[u/Shamscam → u/cvzmir]

They would have to buy the IP’s off of EA. I think they would be better off just making their own IP. They have already proven they can make their own IP’s successful, why bother spending a shit load of money on failed IP’s? I know historically they aren’t failed, but andromeda and veilguards were both massive flops for the company.

[u/austinxsc19]

Another acquisition resulting job loss and shutdowns. Yet we keep allowing them to happen

[u/TsundereBurger]

This is gutting. Just sad.

[u/sydwasthemax]

Im legit devastated despite everything that came to pass

[u/UnstableEnergies]

They didn’t even mention Jade Empire wtf…. Then to can Mass Effect… I need a mf drink…

[u/Tomhur]

Sad but not surprising just sums up my reaction to this...

Thanks for everything, BioWare. From KOTOR to Dragon Age to Mass Effect, you made my childhood special.

[u/Githzerai1984]

Ugh I suspected it after veilguard and andromeda but still a gut punch

[u/AbsoluteApril]

I am gutted. Not surprised but this sucks

[u/kakaphoe]

It's not surprising, but it's still really fucking sad.

[u/se_endelica_dema]

And just like that. Everyone predicted that, but still - closing mid-development? Not even try new mass effect?

Let me quess. EA saw upcoming exodus and expanse, understood that whatever trash they were making definitely won't compete with normal games, and decided to not even try.

[u/Raucus_]

This is heartbreaking.

I hated Veilguard, but I always hoped they could find their way back.

Seeing the studio that made some of my favourite games of all time close because of corporate shitebaggery is just tragic.

[u/New_Orchid_3451]

I own dragon age now. Everyone’s head canons are now canon, making the executive decision now.

[u/Raucus_ → u/New_Orchid_3451]

Thanks for ending the series at Trespasser.

The cliffhanger finale was a bold and controversial choice but I have this vague gut feeling that it could have been so much worse.

Maybe consider a remake/remaster of Origins?

[u/New_Orchid_3451 → u/Raucus_]

I do what I can. I couldn’t possibly top Trespasser, and I wouldn’t make people wait a decade’s worth of development hell to hand out a spit-shined turd. Once I get my nug army rounded back up into the coding room we’ll get started on the remakes

[u/_Hym → u/New_Orchid_3451]

The king is dead, long live the king!

[u/JoGibbo]

No surprise after the shit show that was Veilguard and Anthem.
With the budgets & ips they have it’s crazy how these devs get shown up by the likes of Annapurna, Remedy & NinjaTheory.

*Edit- I just reeled off three AA devs without thinking to much but Stray, HellBlade 2, Alan Wake 2 & Control Resonant have been by favourite games to play over the last 5 years, all made by above dev’s

[u/Agentkeenan78]

Fuck EA.

[u/Phoexyael15]

Very sad news. Dragon age Origins an Inquisition was a big part of my teenage years.

[u/Geosaurusrex]

Whelp now I'm gonna be in a crisis for the rest of the evening.

[u/Plums4]

The only thing about this news that shocks me is that it didn't happen immediately after Veilguard, when they fired a bunch of people after it flopped. I guess they were waiting for the Saudis to do it and crossing their fingers that a decision maker would want ME5 too much to pull the plug.