EA CEO Says Dragon Age: The Veilguard Failed to 'Resonate With a Broad Audience,' Gamers Increasingly Want 'Shared-World Features'

EA's Andrew Wilson attributes the financial underperformance of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to its failure to connect with a wider audience. Last week's restructuring of BioWare, focusing solely on Mass Effect 5, saw staff previously working on Dreadwolf reassigned to other EA projects.

EA's recent financial report revealed that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, despite positive critical reception and a reported 1.5 million players, significantly missed projected engagement figures, falling nearly 50% short of expectations. IGN previously documented Dreadwolf's troubled development, including layoffs and the departure of key personnel. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, BioWare staff considered the game's completion a remarkable achievement given EA's initial push for live-service elements, later abandoned.

Wilson, in an investor call, suggested that future role-playing games require "shared-world features and deeper engagement" alongside strong narratives to broaden their appeal. He acknowledged the game's quality but highlighted its limited audience reach in a competitive market. This statement is perplexing given EA's earlier decision to pivot Dreadwolf away from its initially planned live-service model to a single-player focus, a decision that contrasts sharply with Wilson's current emphasis on shared-world features.

The gaming community largely perceives EA's lessons learned from Dreadwolf as misguided, pointing to the immense success of recent single-player RPGs like Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3. The future of the Dragon Age franchise remains uncertain.

EA CFO Stuart Canfield further elaborated on the BioWare restructuring, noting the reduction in staff from approximately 200 to under 100, prioritizing Mass Effect 5. He emphasized the shifting industry landscape and the need to allocate resources to high-potential projects. This underscores EA's heavy reliance on live-service games (74% of revenue in the past year), with titles like Ultimate Team, Apex Legends, and The Sims contributing significantly. Future projects like Skate and the next Battlefield are also expected to follow this live-service model.