Former Dragon Age series executive producer Mark Darrah has expressed his concerns about the lack of support from EA and BioWare during the early development stages of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Darrah detailed his experiences during what he described as "the most impactful 12 months in BioWare’s history" in 2017. He highlighted the decisions that influenced the early development of the latest Dragon Age game and linked these to the final stages of Mass Effect: Andromeda's development.
Darrah's involvement shifted in late 2016 when he was reassigned to help with the final stages of Mass Effect: Andromeda. He noted that the Dragon Age team felt unsupported and "jerked around" by both BioWare and EA. The aim was to free up resources for Dragon Age once Andromeda was completed, but this plan didn't fully materialize.
"This was the first time where we had this leadership discontinuity, where the person in charge of a project left that project to help someone else, some other project, while the project continued to run," Darrah explained. He emphasized that although the impact on Dragon Age wasn't significant, the precedent set was dangerous and not conducive to successful project management.
Mass Effect: Andromeda's launch in March 2017 was met with disappointment, and during this period, BioWare was adjusting to new leadership at EA, which showed intense interest in the studio's projects. Darrah felt that even after Andromeda's release, Dragon Age didn't receive the necessary support.
The Best BioWare RPGs
Pick a winner
New duel
1ST
2ND
3RDSee your ResultsFinish playing for your personal results or see the community’s!Continue playingSee results
Darrah reached out to EA's leadership, including CEO Andrew Wilson and former executive Patrick Söderlund, about his concerns, and was reassured of Dragon Age's importance to the company. However, EA provided minimal resources, and in a surprise move, veteran Casey Hudson was brought back to BioWare without consulting Darrah, despite his seniority.
"You have to remember: I am the second most senior person at BioWare," Darrah stated. "Casey was interviewed, and hired, and prepared to be brought back entirely without me being consulted in any way. Would me have being involved in the process have changed the decision? No, I don’t think it would have, but there is an immense amount of disrespect involved in making a hire of this impact, in making a decision of this import, without involving the second-most senior person at your studio in any way."
Darrah foresaw a shift in focus to Anthem, but despite assurances from EA's leadership, this is exactly what happened. The development of Anthem consumed EA's attention until its troubled 2019 launch, while resources were consistently diverted from what would become Dragon Age: The Veilguard, leading to significant changes in the project.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released in late 2024 and received positive reviews, including a 9/10 from us. However, EA labeled its launch as a disappointment, citing that it failed to "resonate with a broad enough audience." This view was later contested by former BioWare developers, who suggested the company should emulate the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios.
In January of this year, many Dragon Age developers were laid off as BioWare redirected its focus to Mass Effect 5.
