Dragon Age: The Veilguardwas a high-profile release only months ago, coming out on July 08, 2025, yet it’s already being included in the monthly offerings of PlayStation Plus. TheDragon Ageseries is incredibly beloved, alongside its cherished developer BioWare, but the monumental turnaround from launch to appearance on a subscription service is a worrying sign.The Veilguardreceived positive reviews, but its quick transition to PS+ may be an indication that its long-term sales projections don’t quite meet publisher Electronic Arts' hopes.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Didn’t Meet Sales Expectations
It “Engaged” 1.5 Million Players
In a press release fromElectronic Artsin late January, the publisher acknowledged thatThe Veilguardperformed about half as well as expected:
Separately, Dragon Age engaged approximately 1.5 million players during the quarter, down nearly 50% from the company’s expectations.
This has some notably odd wording, with EA hinging on an undefined engagement metric. Speculation may point to the numbers including those who triedThe Veilguardvia a game trial on EA Play, the publisher’s own subscription service, but that’s largely beside the point, sincethe press release explicitly states this was well below the game’s expected performance.
This was an unexpected turn considering what appeared to be a successful launch. According toVGC,Dragon Age: The VeilguarddethronedCall of Duty: Black Ops 6as Steam’s best-selling game, reaching a concurrent player count of over 70,000 within 24 hours of release,BioWare’s most successful launch on Steam to date. Add to thisDragon Age’s name recognition and admirableMetacriticaggregate scores,Veilguardseems like it was poised to be the success BioWare needed after the failure of its last original game, Anthem, in 2019.
A month removed from EA’s press release,The Veilguard’s inclusion in March’s PlayStation Plus Essential line-up appears to indicate thatthe action RPG did not have legs. EA may be trying to get a final chunk of revenue out ofThe Veilguardfrom Sony, expecting its long-term sales to taper drastically. Although the full picture isn’t necessarily clear, the limited figures don’t really point toDragon Agebeing a profitable avenue for EA to continue investing in.
After Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare Is Down To A Skeleton Crew
The Next Mass Effect Is In Early Development
Early in February,EA downsized BioWare, leaving fewer than 100 staff members at the developer after many were laid off, and loaned or permanently relocated to other EA subsidiaries.The remaining BioWare employees have seemingly shifted focus to the upcoming return ofMass Effect, BioWare’s other flagship RPG series, sinceDragon Agereceived its final major updatein January.
According to an EA investors call (viaIGN),Mass Effect Legendary Editionperformed “well above” the company’s expectations. TheLegendary Editionis, importantly, a remastered collection of the originalMass Effecttrilogy, all three of which remain beloved games.Mass Effect’s previous release,Andromeda, does not have a stellar reputation, and caused the series to be put on ice for a number of years.
Excitement for a newMass Effectis palpable, though, and at this point,it may be BioWare’s last opportunity to avoid closure under EA. The developer has an exceptionally stellar back catalog, but sinceDragon Age: Inquisitionwon Game of the Year at 2014’s The Game Awards and became BioWare’s best-selling title, it canceled an asymmetrical multiplayer game calledShadow Realms, and released three games that could be considered failures –Andromeda,Anthem, andThe Veilguard– at least from EA’s perspective.
The Veilguard May Be The Last Dragon Age Game
Long, Troubled Development With Little Payoff
A fourthDragon Agebegan its earliest development in 2015, but was interrupted and reimagined multiple times; most famously, it became a live-service project for a time, before transitioning back to single-player uponAnthem’s failure. Nine years of development isn’t unheard of on the AAA side of the industry, but even when BioWare had more personnel, it was roughly 10 times smaller than industry giants like Rockstar Games, which has been working onGrand Theft Auto 6for a similar length of time.
Rockstar Games comprises multiple studios, but its protracted development periods provide a good comparison for contextualizing the resources required to develop a game over the course of a decade.
Suffice it to say,Dragon Age: The Veilguardneeded to be a hit, and despite a promising start, it wasn’t. In terms of financial viability,Dragon Ageis now a huge risk, especially if a subsequent game became mired in another rocky development cycle.The Veilguardmay be the lastDragon Agegame we see, if not ever, then certainly in a very long time.
It also doesn’t bode well forMass Effectconsidering its restricted development team and similar hiatus, but more importantly, BioWare and those who work there appear to be on thin ice.Dragon Agehas long been a cornerstone of fantasy RPGs, but the underwhelming performance ofThe Veilguardmight be the final nail in the coffin.Dragon Age: The Veilguardcoming to PlayStation Plus might help it reach a wider audience, but it also may be evidence thatDragon Ageis dead.
Sources:Electronic Arts,VGC,Metacritic,IGN
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is the fourth entry in the Dragon Age franchise and a sequel to 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition. A classic character, Solas, will return as the new game’s antagonist. The game will retain many of the series' staples, such as multiple dialogue options, party choices, romantic options, and more. Dreadwolf will act as the first direct sequel in the Dragon Age franchise.
