Dragon Age 4 has been in the works for an incredibly long time, but hopefully, we’ll see the game sooner rather than later. BioWare has provided a substantial update about the game’s development process, and it sounds like the game is about halfway through the company’s proposed cycle. While we probably won’t see Dragon Age 4 in 2022 — or perhaps even 2023 — everything about the game looks like it’s where it needs to be for now.
Information comes from the official BioWare website, where a blog post by studio general manager Gary McKay lays out a meaty Dragon Age 4 update. First, he describes that there are five stages in the game development process: Concept, Pre-Production, Production, Alpha and Beta. At present, DA4 is in the third one.
“For the next Dragon Age, we are right in the middle of Production, which is a great feeling,” McKay writes. “Our blueprint was completed last year, so we’re now focused on building out our vision: creating amazing environments, deep characters, strong gameplay, impactful writing, emotional cinematics — and much more. The blueprint for the game is well understood and the team is focused.”
McKay also lays out a few key personnel in Dragon Age 4’s development. Mac Walters, who has been with the company for 18 years and oversaw Mass Effect Legendary Edition, is the production designer. Corrine Busche, a 15-year EA veteran, will direct the game. Busche previously worked as a Lead Systems Designer at BioWare, and helped develop other EA games before that, including expansions for The Sims.
We also won’t have to wait too much longer for additional Dragon Age 4 updates, according to McKay:
“Later this year, you will start to hear more from the Dragon Age team in the form of blogs and social content. As we move th rough development we’ll also be in regular communication with players who sit on our community council.”
Dragon Age 4 has had a bit of a rough development cycle so far, with early work on the game dating back to 2015. Supposedly, the game went from being a single-player adventure, to a live-service multiplayer experience, and back to a single-player game again, which has tacked on a lot of extra development time. A lot of key BioWare personnel have also departed during that time, from game director Mike Laidlaw to studio director Christian Dailey.
We’re probably due for a big Dragon Age 4 update later this year, so stay tuned until then. In the meantime, you can play the whole series on Xbox Game Pass via EA Play.
