EA CEO: Dragon Age Fails, Gamers Crave Shared Worlds

EA CEO Andrew Wilson attributed the financial underperformance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard to its failure to resonate with a broad audience. Following the game's disappointing sales, EA restructured BioWare, the Dragon Age developer, to focus solely on Mass Effect 5, reassigning some Veilguard staff to other EA projects. EA reported that Dragon Age: The Veilguard engaged only 1.5 million players, significantly below projections.

IGN previously documented various development challenges faced by Dragon Age: The Veilguard, including layoffs and the departure of key personnel. According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, BioWare staff considered the game's completion a miracle given EA's initial push for live-service elements, later reversed.

In a recent investor call, Wilson suggested that future role-playing games require "shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives" to expand beyond their core audience. He acknowledged the game's positive critical reception but emphasized its insufficient appeal to a wider market. This statement implies that the addition of shared-world features and increased engagement could have improved sales, despite EA's earlier decision to pivot Dragon Age away from a live-service model. This contradicts the company's prior decision to reboot the game as a single-player RPG, leading to criticism from fans who point to the success of recent single-player titles like Baldur's Gate 3. The future of the Dragon Age franchise remains uncertain.

EA CFO Stuart Canfield further explained the BioWare restructuring, noting the reduction of the studio's size from approximately 200 to fewer than 100 employees. He highlighted the shift in the industry landscape and the need to prioritize high-potential opportunities, emphasizing that the game's financial performance underscores this evolving market.

It's important to note that single-player games constitute a small portion of EA's overall revenue. The majority of EA's income (74% in the past year) stems from live-service games, primarily driven by Ultimate Team, with contributions from titles such as Apex Legends and The Sims. Future EA titles like the upcoming Skate and the next Battlefield installment are also expected to incorporate live-service elements.