Tag: Bioware
News Original Dragon Age Writer Responds to EA's Live Service Obsession with Common Sense
"Follow Larian's lead"
Earlier this week, EA CEO Andrew Wilson set the internet ablaze with comments suggesting that Dragon Age: The Veilguard would have performed better if it had live service elements. Plenty of people have fired back against such a notion, but few have done so with the clarity of lead Dragon Age: Origins writer David Gaider...
News Reassigned BioWare Staff Might Not Get to Go Back to Developer
Now they're permanent moves, says Jason Schreier
The employees from BioWare that EA temporarily moved to other internal teams might not actually be given the chance to go back, a new report claims. Jason Schreier of
News BioWare Downsizing as It Focuses on Next Mass Effect, Some Staff Moved to Other EA Teams
Studio is in between "full development cycles"
BioWare has announced it's downsizing and moving "many" staff members over to other teams inside EA as it looks to streamline its workload following the shift in focus to the next Mass Effect instalment. Since the developer is no longer working on two RPGs simultaneously after the release of Dragon Age:...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Support Could Be Over Already as Patch 5 Drops on PS5
No mention of PS5 Pro fixes
Patch 5 for Dragon Age: The Veilguard is available to download now on PS5, weighing in at around 500MB. But it's actually BioWare's patch-accompanying comments that are the big talking point here, as it suggests that support for the action RPG is already coming to an end. Those who have been playing The Veilguard since...
News Next Mass Effect Isn't Going to Be Ready for a Long, Long Time, Suggests BioWare Vet
The Veilguard effect
Now that BioWare's all but done with Dragon Age: The Veilguard — barring any updates, but we've heard absolutely nothing on that front for months — the developer's attention is fixed firmly on the next Mass Effect. Except, it sounds like that project is still years away. As explained in his latest video on his own personal...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Character Creator Now Free on PS5, Patch 4 Adds Hawke's Armour
Face time
4th December marks Dragon Age Day on the BioWare calendar, and so the developer's dishing out some surprise presents. To start with, it's launched a standalone version of the character creator from Dragon Age: The Veilguard. You can download it for free on PS5, and spend a ridiculous amount of time crafting your ideal hero. You can then...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Patch 3 Out Now, BioWare Promises Another Update 'Soon'
Keep your Veilguard up
BioWare has released a new update for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, bringing a handful of improvements to the overall experience, while also squashing a bunch of bugs. Highlights include photo mode filters, and a selection of user interface-based enhancements. Meanwhile, the bug fixes address all kinds of things, like wonky...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Reveals Players' Most Popular Class, Race, and Faction
Data Age
BioWare's always been quick to share player statistics for its games. In particular, the developer used to spark heated debates amongst fans whenever it revealed data for Mass Effect. And while we doubt that these early points of interest for Dragon Age: The Veilguard will prove very surprising, they still provide some welcome insight into...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard's First PS5 Update Out Now, Adds Mass Effect Armour, Fixes Bugs
Behind the Veil
The first post-launch update for Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be dropping at some point this week, developer BioWare has confirmed. The full patch notes won't be released until the update is actually available, but it sounds like some decent adjustments are incoming. The studio gives a brief overview of what to expect, writing:...
News Prep for The Veilguard with Eight-Part Dragon Age Narrative Podcast
You heard right
While Dragon Age: The Veilguard doesn't drop until 31st October on PS5, companionship-starved fans can get a taste of the friendship to come in an eight-part narrative podcast series. The series serves as a prequel to the game and an introduction to its companion characters. Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance kicks off in just a few...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Drops Loads of PS5 Gameplay, Action Combat Details
Warrior, come out to play
Having previously promised to bring us way more information on the action combat system in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare has gone ahead and dropped a bunch of gameplay trailers, each of which outline a different part of the experience. The video at the top of this article details pre-combat preparation, giving us a...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Confirms October PS5 Release Date in a Much Better Trailer
Behind the veil
Update: It's official: Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches for PS5 on the 31st October. You can catch the date and a lot of brand new footage via the game's new trailer, which we've embedded above. We don't think it's a particularly amazing video, but it's a heck of a lot better than that initial reveal trailer that got everyone so...
Announcement of an announcement of an announcement
The Dragon Age: The Veilguard release date is finally here! Well, almost. BioWare's confirmed that it'll be handing eager fans a full date roughly 24 hours from the posting of this article. Just to be clear, it'll be announced on the 15th August at 9pm Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK / 6pm Central...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard October Release Date Rumours Backed Up By Removed Art Book
Dragon it out
A now removed product listing for the official Dragon Age: The Veilguard art book has given weight to recent rumours. Indeed, there have been whispers that the RPG is aiming for an October launch, and this art book — which was spotted by Reddit users — was set for the 30th October. Again, the listing has since been taken down,...
Keep talking
A bigger script doesn't necessarily mean a better RPG, but a huge amount of dialogue can suggest that the RPG in question offers a lot of depth. We're hoping that's the case with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, as developer BioWare has commented on the sheer number of lines that it's recorded for the upcoming adventure. For reference,...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Not the 'Right Game' for 'Nasty' Blood Magic
Keep your evil bottled up within
RPGs often feature a morality system, allowing players to dictate how their chosen character will interact with a given game world, ranging from relatively black-and-white to endlessly crushing, grimdark grey (we're looking squarely at you, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader). How BioWare's upcoming Dragon Age: The...
News BioWare Will 'Finally' Return to Its Roots with Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Storytelling
Golden Age
There's a crystal clear emphasis on character-driven storytelling in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. From the actual name of the game through to the (admittedly terrible) reveal trailer, and then the fairly promising gameplay demonstration, The Veilguard's party members are in the spotlight. And this is exactly what BioWare should be doing,...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard's In-Depth Difficulty Settings Even Have a No Death Option
Not today
Upcoming RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard will feature a full suite of customisable difficulty options. A new Game Informer article reveals that alongside your typical premade settings — Storyteller, Adventurer, and Nightmare — you'll be able to adjust individual values in order to create your own custom difficulty. You can tweak...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Assures Its RPG Roots with Massive Skill Trees for Each Class
In for the skill
It's perhaps a little unfair given that we've only seen 20 minutes of (early) gameplay from Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but there's already cynicism over the title's role-playing depth. To be fair, BioWare does have a history of... streamlining RPG systems in successive games (Mass Effect 3 immediately comes to mind), but as alluded,...
Poll So, What Are Your Thoughts on Dragon Age: The Veilguard?
Step beyond the veil
Now that we've all had time to process them, we want to know your thoughts on the recently revealed Dragon Age: The Veilguard. BioWare's RPG (or should we say action RPG?) turned out to be a major talking point amongst a wave of game announcements and updates from this summer's showcases. Almost a whole decade after the release...
News Betrayal as OG Mass Effect Citadel Sprinting Revealed to Be a Lie
Sprintgate 2.0
Developer BioWare has been pulling the wool over the eyes of fans for more than a decade, convincing gamers through clever technical tricks that they were going fast when, in fact, they were not. The veil was lifted after Dragon Age Inquisition's "horse sprinting" was revealed to be an illusion, and now it seems that Shepard never...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is Very 'Mission-Based', Not Unlike Mass Effect
More linear than Inquisition
More details on Dragon Age: The Veilguard are starting to emerge now that the game has finally been shown off. The main points are all rather evident if you've watched the gameplay demonstration: it's a full action RPG, dialogue wheels still exist, and you play as a completely custom character. But something from IGN's...
News Forget About the Cheesy Reveal Trailer with 20 Mins of Dragon Age: The Veilguard Gameplay
Behind the veil
As promised, BioWare has unveiled 20 minutes of gameplay from Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Showcasing what looks to be the game's opening act, it's a linear sequence that's been edited down to avoid story spoilers. The actual art direction is a lot less cartoony than what we saw in the title's incredibly divisive reveal trailer, while...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Reveal Has Utterly Torn Fan Opinion as Trailer Gets Slaughtered
Hole in the veil
Yesterday, during the Xbox showcase, we got our first proper look at Dragon Age: The Veilguard — a game that's reportedly survived a nightmarish development cycle over the last decade or so. While it was only a CG trailer, it prompted immediate reactions from both fans and curious onlookers because of its tone and art direction...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Shifts to 'Real-Time Action Combat'
We're a long way from Origins
As has been rumoured over the past couple of years or so, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is apparently going full action in terms of its combat system. That's according to Game Informer, who have an exclusive look at the upcoming RPG in their next issue. The publication writes: "We visited BioWare's Edmonton, Canada, office...
News Dragon Age: The Veilguard Finally Ventures to PS5 Later This Year, Trailer Gives First Look
New art style included
Dragon Age: The Veilguard finally has a release window (not a date). It's heading to PS5 this autumn / fall, and we get our first look at the RPG via the above reveal trailer. Our immediate takeaways are that BioWare's actually going with a slightly cartoon-y art style, recurring dwarf character Varric is a lot older, and...
News Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Now Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Full Gameplay Reveal Next Week
Finally
Update: Finally putting an end to all of the rumours circling the next Dragon Age game's full reveal, BioWare has come out and confirmed that the title will be shown off next week on the 11th June at 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST, via the official Dragon Age YouTube channel. Oh, and the game's called Dragon Age: The Veilguard now,...
News The Big Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Reveal Is Incoming, 2024 Release Date Reportedly Set
Getting warmer
Earlier this year, reports of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf did the rounds, complete with claims that it would finally be releasing in 2024. And now, Eurogamer is backing that up. The BioWare RPG is one of two "unannounced" titles that publisher EA has lined up in for this financial year, and we already know a full Dreadwolf reveal is...
Rumour Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Will Finally, Finally Release Later This Year
Dreading it
So, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf — the BioWare game that's been developed, scrapped, developed again, maybe scrapped again, and then teased for about half a decade, could finally release before the year is out. That's according to in-the-know Game Mess host Jeff Grubb (via Eurogamer), who says " will be released this yea
Rumour Dragon Age Dreadwolf Really Is Set to Release in 2024
Dreading it
We're yet to actually see the game in action — if you can believe it — but it's widely believed that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is targeting a 2024 release date (barring any big delays). And now, that theory's being backed up by a recent discovery on a BioWare dev's LinkedIn profile. Said profile specifically states that Dreadwolf is a...
News Next Mass Effect Gets New Teaser, Featuring a Masked N7 Character
Lots of speculation for everyone
Update: Well, we'll be honest, we weren't expecting to get a new teaser for the next Mass Effect game today, but here we are. The new trailer is just 35 seconds long, but it shows a masked figure sporting a stylish N7 outfit. Naturally, fans are already suggesting that this suggests the return of Commander Shepard...
Rumour Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Targeting Summer 2024 Release at the Earliest
Dreading it
Hot off the back of the unfortunate news that BioWare is cutting roughly 50 jobs, it's now sounding like Dragon Age: Dreadwolf — the studio's next game — is still a long way off. This is according to Jeff Grubb, who's been in-the-know with regards to BioWare in the past. In his latest video, Grubb states that Dreadwolf was actually...
Mass Effect still in pre-production
Some unfortunate news from Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare: the studios has announced that it'll be "eliminating approximately 50 roles", in an attempt to reshape the company for the better. "In order to meet the needs of our upcoming projects, continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard of...
News Mass Effect's Dead Shepard Statue Pulled from Sale, BioWare Admits Communication Error
Shepard's most iconic moment
If you're particularly sensitive to minor spoilers for what is, at this point, a retro game, consider yourself warned. During the prologue of Mass Effect 2 (literally the first ten minutes), a convenient McGuffin is contrived as a way to reset any skills Commander Shepard might have picked up during the original game,...
News Dragon Age: Origins Writer Thinks It's Time For 'PS5-Era Bells and Whistles' Remaster
So two thousand and late
Dragon Age: Origins writer David Gaider thinks it's time for a "PS5-era bells and whistles" remaster, presumably with 4K visuals running at 60fps, with haptic integration, and we can't help but agree. Gaider was musing on Twitter that, given the current appetite for high-quality remasters and remakes from the 2000s (such as...
News Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Gameplay Leak Shows Action Combat, Grey Warden HQ
A new age
Early gameplay footage from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has shown up online, highlighting the game's new action-based combat system. As per previously leaked details, you'll only be able to control the main character in fights, while your current party members back you up — a bit like how Mass Effect plays. This latest leak shows the player...
Rumour Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Could Still Be a Long Way Off
Despite previous reports
Last we heard, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf was playable from start to finish — at least, in alpha build form. This positive update on the project arrived in October of last year, and led to speculation surrounding the game's eventual release date. Many had thought that the BioWare RPG could be targeting a late 2023 launch, but...
News Lead Mass Effect 2, 3 Writer Leaves BioWare After 19 Years
He had a... massive effect
BioWare veteran Mac Walters has departed the developer following 19 years of service. Walters is best known for his work on the Mass Effect series, and in particular, he was credited as the lead writer on both Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. Much more recently, he was the project director on the excellent Mass Effect...
Random Mass Effect Director Stoked Someone Finally Caught His Top Gun Reference
"I've been waiting so long"
It looks like Casey Hudson, director of the original Mass Effect trilogy, is a huge fan of Top Gun. Further, he worked a reference to the 80s classic into the opening text of the first Mass Effect game, which has apparently gone unnoticed until now. In fact, the opening text is the reference. As pointed out by Twitter...
NHeaven
Republished on Wednesday 30th November 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. One of gaming's most beloved trilogies is back, and quite frankly, it's better than ever. If you loved the intergalactic adventures of Commander Shepard...
News Next Mass Effect Gets a Tiny Teaser for N7 Day
Spacing out
We might have forgotten that today is N7 Day — the date on which everything Mass Effect is celebrated — but BioWare hasn't! The developer has posted what seems to be a very, very, very small teaser for the next Mass Effect on social media. The 25-second clip shows some kind of space station (which sort of resembles an...
News Deus Ex, Guardians of the Galaxy Writer to Lead Narrative on the Next Mass Effect
I'm Commander Shepard, and this is the best news I've heard in a long time
Rejoice, Garrus stans! Mary DeMarle, award-winning writer of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and most recently Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, will be joining BioWare as Senior Narrative Director. DeMarle will be joining the Mass Effect team, lending...
Rumour BioWare May Have Just Confirmed the Return of Commander Shepard in the New Mass Effect
The show goes on
Well well well, what do we have here? As the headline suggests, BioWare may have just let slip some huge news regarding the new Mass Effect game, which is currently in development. It's already known that the title will take place after the original trilogy, with key recurring character Liara supposedly popping up in the...
News New Mass Effect 'Now Early in Development', BioWare Confirms
Follow the Shepard
The next Mass Effect game was announced back in December 2020, but we've seen nothing of it since that initial teaser trailer (aside from some vague concept art). We've always assumed that the new instalment is years away from release — and wording in BioWare's latest blog post backs that up. The arti
News BioWare Still 'Hard at Work' on New Mass Effect, Dragon Age 4
Dragon Age still a single-player RPG
BioWare has published a developer blog post to bring in the new year. Penned by studio manager Gary McKay, the article discusses the general state of BioWare, and what its plans are for the future. McKay also mentions the success of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, which has been a huge hit with both players and...
News New Mass Effect Legendary Edition Stats Show 15% of Players Didn't Even Recruit Garrus
Calibrations needed
It was N7 Day over the weekend — Mass Effect's annual celebration — and BioWare provided some entertainment through a new set of player statistics based on choices from Mass Effect Legendary Edition. The stats make for an interesting read, highlighting things like character loyalty in Mass Effect 2, the endings of Mass Effect...
News Mass Effect Legendary Edition Sales 'Well Above' Expectations, Says EA
Massive effect
EA has just enjoyed a very successful quarter according to the company's latest earnings report — and the release of Mass Effect Legendary Edition played a big part in that. The remastered collection launched back in May, and EA says that it's sold "well above" expectations up until this point. "The launch of Mass Effect Legendary...
News Mass Effect Legendary Edition Stats Show Most Popular Shepard, Key Story Choices, and Much More
Paragon vs. Renegade
BioWare has released a fantastic infographic for Mass Effect Legendary Edition, detailing all kinds of stats and statistics based on the choices players have made across all three remastered games. Please note that some of these stats do refer to potential story spoilers. It makes for a really interesting read, especially if...
News Dragon Age 4 on Track for 2023 Release, Says Report
An age later
Veteran RPG studio BioWare skipped EA Play Live 2021 earlier this week, meaning that we didn't get any new updates on Dragon Age 4 (or whatever it ends up being called). However, in a new report, VentureBeat cites sources that say Dragon Age 4 development is going well, and that it's currently on track for a 2023 release window. As
News Mass Effect Legendary Edition Patch 1.03 Fixes Trophy Bugs, Weird Eye Animations, and More
Shepard Commander
A new update for Mass Effect Legendary Edition is available to download now on PlayStation 4 (and PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility). Patch 1.03 makes some mostly minor adjustments, but it all adds up. Most notably, the update should fix an issue that was stopping players from popping specific, long-term Trophies — like...
