You hit the nail on the head with this being Bioware's last chance. You better nail it Bioware...

This came out of nowhere! I'd say if this flops, the Bioware brand will be 'retired.'

I don't think you are pessimistic. You are a realist, based on BioWare's performance in the last 10 years or so. Consistent bad game releases, and poor performance. On top of that, the only good dragon age game was the firdt one (origins). EA is a company known for shutting down studios. I think it is very fair to speculate that this game will not deliver, and it will be the final nail in the coffin for bioware.

Same feelings. I have a hard time believing that EA, after gutting Bioware from 1K or so employees across 4 studios in 2017 to 250'ish employees across 2 studios, would allow the studio to make another Mass Effect game if DragonAge doesn't both sell well and receive quite a bit of not just industry praise, but fan praise as well. There is no reason for them to risk the Mass Effect IP after Bioware would have, at that point, released the worst ME game in the series already, then takes a decade on a DragonAge, 6 years of which are the game in full production bc they could not stop pivoting and focus on one common shared vision of the game. That is just too much money in the past, right now with to much to lose in the future. Seriously, if they want a single player ME game they could just stick Motive or another studio on it; If Bioware is not making top 10 selling single player games with top 5 reviews, EA does not need them. It was why they were purchased to begin with. ME 1 was almost complete, Origins was a year or so from release, and Bioware had just come off a *7 year span* that saw them release Baldur's Gate 1, Tales of the Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate 2, Throne of Bhaal, Neverwinter Nights, 2 NWN expansions, Jade Empire and KotOR. 5 good to legendary games, and 4 pretty darn good expansions, one of which is still heralded by many as the best expansion ever made considering it's era of release. All of the games were also being rated in the 90's by the player base and 80's to mid 90's (96 in the case of Baldur's Gate 2 and Throne of Bhaal) by aggregate critic scores. That's what EA bought. Oh, and they made the games on shoestring budgets compared to the other massive AAA RPG's which was another huge boon. I don't think EA expects that level of quality. If they did they would have kept their best talent and pushed for more great story tellers in the industry to come to Bioware as oppsoed to letting staff go, but I'm sure they will still demand 7-10M units sold, a short term boost to EA Live or wtv they call Origin now, along with good word or mouth and some glowing articles about Bioware's triumphant return to the land of Thedas. Anything less and Bioware is in some serious trouble. If they do happen to nail it though, expect another couple hundred people to be added to the Bioware squads as they get production of a DA expansion or sequel going right away while another full team of 200 or so goes full steam ahead on the next Mass Effect. It will almost definitely be a feast or famine thing at this point, I just can't see it going anywhere else save _"Yay, Bioware is back!"_ or _"We are saddened to announce the closure of a legendary studio..."_ My crystal ball isn't working atm so I guess we'll all just have to wait and see how the coin flip turns out.

There is none left of the old Bioware Team. Thats not Bioware, its just a studio still having the name..

Bioware does NOT exist. EA ate that company long ago. Curb your enthusiasm.

I think the game may actually perform decently well, riding on the coattails of BG3 RPG hype. It's a similar game style with cutscenes, and I doubt that they took ten years and DIDN'T end up making a decent story. It's Bioware, after all. Now, gameplay-wise I'm not so sure how good it'll be. Not sure it NEEDS to be perfect gameplay wise. People will love a good story. So I think it'll perform better than most people suspect, there's been a ton of pessimism. But yes, if it underperforms I do think it's the end of Bioware. Have thought that for a long time, really. The IPs may live on and the games may be produced by other studios.

I’d forgotten how amazing the atmosphere of dragon age origins was. I love that dark gritty medieval feel. I don’t think they’re going to replicate that sadly, it’ll probably be full of hugs and “friendship is magic” and derpy annoying teammates (sera..?) lol

I'll believe it when I'll see it But hopefully it's ture

Sadly I think that Larian is the way forward and Bioware really has passed. I would love to be wrong but I just do not have high hopes for this.

Dragon Age Origins and Inquisition are two of my favourite RPGs of all time.

I find myself unable to overcome my skepticism regarding this title. I will be happy if I am proven wrong but I am not holding my breath. Bioware is dead...or are they?

I'm eager for DAD to come out. I will buy the game because I like Dragon Age as an IP, and I'm hopeful it will be good. DAO is the best of the three games, but each has its appeal. Even DA2 has some great, well written, NPC's and the game had its moments. I'm hopeful, I want it to be good, but given all of the chaos Bioware has been through it's hard to be too optimistic.

I agree 100% on what you said in the video. Dreadwolf - or new Mass Effect for that matter are most likely the last shots BioWare has, if that fails, they're gone. Which is really worrying, to say the least. Last time you mentioned Microsoft and shutting down perfectly capable and well performing studios, even Obsidian is at some risk, now we have BioWare and EA case. It truly speaks volumes about sorry state of the industry. I really hope that Larian and like minded companies will somehow push through purely greed based companies and reach popularity like BG3 did, in hopes that it will somehow renew the industry. Cheers

My feelings about Dreadwolf are the same as yours. Trepidation for the most part. And seeing to believing. I'll make up my mind about it when I see real gameplay and see fans' reviews and thoughts on it. The best of DAI for me is the soundtrack lol. The Lost Elf theme you were playing at the background is one of the most haunting and beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. We'll see if and how Solas' story continues and whether Dreadwolf will be worth our money and time.

I hope the game turns out great and that it wraps up the story. I feel like this needs to be a definite ending to the Dragon Age. Not the franchise as a whole, but just this time period. Gives us all a wrap up to our favorite characters and frees them up from having to keep track of all the various flags from player choices.

Balder's Gate came out WAAAAYYYY before DAO did -- 10 years before. As did BG2 and expansions for both of those games.

Now with in game ads!

Its quite bizzare that Dragon Age franchise just had 1 truly good game and people still after all these years have some hope for another good game.

It’s hard to imagine that one play through of Dreadwolf would be more worth your time than a 5th play through of BG3. Also I still cannot comprehend how EA had the Star Wars license and they didn’t make a KOTOR.

Dragon Age Inquisition was my favourite Dragon Age and one of my favourite RPG's of all time. I cautiously optimistic about Dreadwolf but I hope they nail it. It sounds like it will be out around the same time as Avowed though.

Last chance I don't agree with that . I like Mass Effect 2, and 3, Inquisition and ,ME Andromeda. For me the only bad game was Anthem. Also I am super excited for the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect. I just hope they don't bring back Shepherd as a playable character.

BG3 is amazing for many reasons, NOT just its cutscenes. I prefer DoS2 and am actually not that impressed with BG3’s cutscenes. Give credit where it’s due, Larian absolutely deserve it.

Dragon Age Origins is my third most played game on Steam, behind Final Fantasy XIV and Fallout New Vegas. One of my favorite games ever.

Dragon Age is my absolute favorite videogame franchise and I have zero faith in whatever Bioware is doing. I'm so happy I got into Baldur's Gate 3 recently...

I'm looking forward but I wish they had a early access so we could see what the game play is going to be like. As well as getting the major bugs addressed.

I knew this was coming when EA took swtor (Bioware's cash cow) away from them and moved it to Broadsword. Right before the 7.0 release for the mmo, one of the devs stated in an interview that swtor was funding the development for both DA:D and ME5. (I think EA's earning report stated that through quarter 3 of 2023, swtor had made $1.9 billion during it's thirteen year run so far) I think you nailed it by stating Dreadwolf has to succeed for Bioware to stay open because they can no longer rely on swtor to keep the doors open. If Dreadwolf fails, I suspect the doors will close at Bioware.

The thing is sales in the first week or two are not a sign of how good any game is, it's a sign of how anticipated it is. Those canny ones amongst us disregard reviews from games journalists as they either are paid for or blackmailed by the games publishers that if they give a poor review they will no longer get early review games thus destroying their company. Only steam reviews are worth your time as it comes from those that have actually spent their money, theirs will be an honest review and those are only take shape a week or two after release as people are busy playing the game especially if they like it!

Hope it's good, but i have my doubts.

I loved Dragon Age Inquisition personally. So i'm excited for Dreadwolf if it expands on that.

before I brought BG3 in early access, I checked out the mods for it on Nexus and there were a lot of mods for it. Even though it was in early access. This showed that people liked the game even then, because they were making mods for it. So that's why I brought it and it was great. It also provided Larian with real feedback. I hope Dreadwolf is great, but we can't know because there's no early access, and the feedback they are getting is biased by not being from the general public. Can only hope EA leaned something from BG3's success.

When a gaming studio knows what they have is great, then they are eager to showcase gameplay. Bioware had this eagerness back with DAO. They even hosted a massive streaming event pre-launch where they invited a lot of people to play it live for viewers to see. With this game they have done everything in their power, it seems, to not showcase any gameplay. I do not see this as a sign they believe in their product.

Jade Empire made me a bit amused, but the realization Bioware was gone came with Mass Effect 1. How they streamlined the morality system down to 2, axed the advanced character creation system from Dragon Age and even removed the entire dialogue interface we were used to. When they cut the character creation system in Mass Effect 2 I still played it but then came the "amazing button" interview about Dragon Age II. It was the first game from Bioware I didn't buy and I completely lost interest in them since. I never played Mass Effect 3, that sci-fi game they did after that (that I forgot the name of) and I know pretty much nothing about Dragon Age 3 or 4. Is this #4? I have no idea. They went from games like Baldur's Gate and KOTOR to make multiplayer shooters for consoles as far as I know.

You are probably correct in saying that it's their last chance to shine. But I already conceded that it probably won't due to various reasons. And even if it succeeds, I don't like the direction the series has been going since DAO so ultimately I don't care much. What I don't like? I don't like the anime-ification that DA undertook since DAO (and I'm somewhat of anime fanatic). At first it started with more or less ordinary people facing overwhelming odds and since the end of DAO it goes towards the way of exceptional people, gifted from the start doing unordinary things (like is so often the case in anime). I have a feeling that in the next iteration of this game, it will become akin to how fighting anime often ends - with godlike people fighting literal gods. It reminds me of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan anime where it started with a couple of miners finding derelict mecha and it ends with heroes throwing literal galaxies at their god enemies. I have a feeling DA franchise is going exactly that direction. They even released Dragon Age anime back in the days which I disliked very much, and it went exactly the way I'd expect from an anime. Another thing is gameplay. I liked very much the numerous skills in DAO and the atmosphere that felt somewhat inspired by Baldur's Gate. Now, the further in future we are, the more the game looks uninspired like an MMO game. I watched the gameplay from DAI you used as a gameplay and after the years I don't remember the location and even caught myself wondering for a moment whether this is DA gameplay or some MMO, like New World. The final aspect I don't like is what I saw with Mass Effect and what I call a depletion of the world's lore. The world started as interesting, full of mysteries, adventure and unrealised potential. But the further it went, the less mysteries it had. All they had became "solved" and they failed to introduce interesting lore in place of what they "used up". In my opinion, it's going in the direction where every mystery will have been solved after the last game, with no room for interpretation, with all world's unknown answers becoming known and with only small and insignificant lore left unexplored. Just as it happened in ME and not even introducing a new galaxy to explore like they did in ME:Andromeda could replace the things they lost when depleting the world's lore. In short, anime-ification + depletion of lore + unwarranted heroicness of heroes make it so I am left with no enthusiasm for the future of the franchise.

ive never been able to finish dragon age inquisition it just dosent click with me i tend to filter out after the grey warden arc of that game.

Dragon Age 2 will always have a central place in my heart. Yes, game-wise you can see it is rushed - but the characters, the world and the plot were unmatched. (To me. ❤) Dramatic, no black and white, hard decisions... and in addition everything is so incredibly intense and personal. Pure love for it. That being said, DA:O is brilliant, and Trespasser as well. Fingers crossed for the fourth installment, but I too try to keep expectations low, lest it break my heart.

I can’t wait to play Dreadwolf sometime around the summer or fall of 2024. Here are my Rooks 1. Male Elf Grey Warden 2. Female Dwarf Antivan Crow 3. Male Human Necromancer 4. Female Qunari Soldier

The first two Baldurs Gate were made by Bioware. DAO was the spiritual successor to them, just helped being made by the same company, given most spiritual successors end up being pale imitations, though I guess you could say that was it's ultimate fate.

Bioware as we know and love is gone but even if this bombs people will still give the new Mass Effect the chance, if that fails then it may be truly over for them.

ngl i pretty much expect it to fail, in no way Bioware being "happy" about its state reads as something positive, more like a PR message at best. it would be a game that would finally bury Bioware and release them from their misery.

There is only name Bioware - all who was involved in DA and Mass Effect left company left long time ago... I know now now they are developing another game (which I wait)

If the game is in the same condition the leaks showed, it is gonna be a trashfire on release

This is make or break And it's looking like break The studio has taken mass creative casualties, it's based on an IP that's been out of the spotlight for a decade, and burdened by EA. I'm not a doomer trying to cheer for this I love BioWare and it's abilities, but it has squandered it's inheritance since Andromeda

BioWare still has ME and another game in the oven, I don't think they will be over if DA4 doesn't get the expected results, though they certainly have to prove themselves with this and the next games. However, one thing is sure for me...the anxiety to finally get some closure with my vhenan and get to know about former companions whereabouts will eat me in the next few months...

I'm excited as the only game that truly let me down was 2. Inquisition became my favorite because of the combat. I'm honestly just happy we are getting another Dragon Age game it's my favorite RPG franchise and has been overlooked for too long.

After Andromeda and Anthem - don't care.

Personally, with how little we seen of dreadwolf I would be worried. If sales need to be big, then I would expect them to hype the game. At least have some game play mixed in with a trailer to get ppl excited.

If Bioware are happy about the state of Dreadwolf, I dare them to release it to early access tomorrow.

The game gonna be a fedex quest just like da3. Problem is also how they changed lore... Thedas xould have many stories, hell, even rts

Not preordering it, and i urge everyone to also not do it. They do not deserve your trust. Make them earn it,

Like so many games, the biggest problem is often the fanbase… look how melodramatic all the comments are… it’s all like don’t trust them and they’re dead, as if personally attacked. How about waiting for reviews and only buying if it looks decent to you, not if it looks bad???

Honestly I'm optimistic. They cancelled the live service model and went back to single player after backlash, which means maybe they've actually been listening to what players want. If EA actually lets them do their own thing, i genuinely think it could revive the Bioware name

I believe, Unfortunately, that everything bioware would need to do to make this game profitable enough in the eyes of EA are going to be a lot of everything we've come to hate about EA games. Personally for me this game would really need to be a reboot of sorts with a return to an origin style crpg, which it absolutely will not be, even in light of the success of Baldur's Gate 3.

What's the game you're playing?

I'm hopeful, but nervous. Maybe all these layoff's will lead to new studios that can create passion projects instead of soul-less product to increase shareholder value.

Dragon Age Inquisition was really good. Not perfect but definitely good enough

"Shards found 4/22" They haven't learned a thing

There already leaked gameplay and menus from February 2023. Looked pretty good

7 months left of the year and we've not seen any official gameplay footage. Not even seen any what I would deem proper cut-scene footage other than voiced words over a clear teaser trailer that merely stoked the fire within me for it potentially meaning we get to visit some locations I've wanted the franchise to visit since Origins. But nothing as of yet to truly get me fully invested other than to see the end of Solas story arc. I could understand if the game was still pre-alpha because anyone that remembers the footage they showed pre-alpha of Inquisition knows a fair bit they showed in demos for that got cut by time of launch. Despite that, if this truly was a game to be proud of, why not showcase it? Why still hold it behind closed doors? I know I've said it before but as much as this is very a Tevinter way of playing cloak and dagger... it just makes me think more and more that this will be dreadful and the death nail in Biowares coffin. I don't like saying it but none of the original staff that are still there fill me with confidence it will be anyhing but that.

I think Larian will now be the new lead of RPG’s. BioWare died long ago:(

Dreadwolf has such a small chance of being good. Best not to hype it up. It's shocking Bioware hasn't been shutdown. It's been what, 15 years since they made a good game?

A game going through a 10 year development usually doesn't speak well for the game. But if I remember correctly this game was scraped a couple of times and had to start over. While I would love for a good game out of bioware. I just can't get myself excited for this game.

They were content with Anthem too

Im invested in the Dragon Age Universe but I dont think this game will live up to Origins, Inquisition, or even Dragon Age 2!

Maybe i have a bad taste but if the next one will be at least as good as Inquisition(i played it with all DLC) then it's enough for me.

I'm really rooting for it to be awesome, because I love this world and this characters, one of my all time favorite game franchises ever. But I intentionally keep hype in check and limit my expectations. It had such a rocky development cycle, most of original creators left to start their own studios, and EA notoriously horrible publisher, so sadly chances it going to suck are very high. Definitely not going to preorder before legitimate reviews, extensive in game footage and few patches ironing out first major bugs, since I already done enough beta-testing for their half baked products at my own expense. If it means DA and ME will be finally put to rest due to not impressive enough sales, well, so be it, we had a good run.

I'm not optimistic about Dreadwolf. Bioware has lost a lot of trust over the years and them being happy about the state of the game doesnt fill me with hope but rather with dread. And after playing Pathfinder, Divinity and Baldur's Gate my expectations are high for stories and characters. I think this game is a sink or swim situation. Also much of the outside material to build up the story of Dreadwolf, from the books and netflix hasn't left a good impression with fans.

We will never get a second Origins ever again and thus not really excited for 4.

I'll be another 3. Not as bad as 2 but you're left wanting what could've been.

Dragon Age Inquisition was amazing IMO

I mean, this is there last chance to get back the people who have basically let go of there ever being another real bioware game, but if this game sells well enough, and doesn't do that, the studio will live.

I thought for a long time companies under EA had it the worst until Bobby Kotick came along. Anthem's failure is also mainly to be blamed on BioWare actually. But yeah, EA will shut them down for good if they fail again and I find myself not even being sad if it happens. Since if they suck again they have proven for a last time what I believe: BioWare is as dead as Blizzard. I know for a fact that no original members of Blizzard still work there. What I would be interested in is, if there is any left in BioWare?

All I know is no pre order and I’m gonna wait till I hear people saying it’s good or bad etc

I always thought DAI was the worst of the three games--generic and overstuffed with fetch quests (anticipating the much worse ME: Andromeda). My expectations couldn't be lower for Bioware, as I've neither seen (nor heard) any evidence that they understand what's gone wrong over the last decade, but we can hope for something good all the same.

I hope that Archetype picks up those kicked out from Bioware, so they continue to build up the next best thing. A Medieval Fantasy IP from Archetype shure it will be great.

baldurs gate 3 is the real dragon age origins 2

I feel like Bioware has already had a couple last chances. They didnt turn out

If Dreadwolf is bound to EA's dreadful launcher, which I'm sure it will be, they won't get my money.

i checked out at DA2, they have not produced anything of value or quality for a very long time and they do not have ANY quality writers left

It's gonna be a sad death ☠️

I would be shocked if this game is anything I would be remotely interested in touching. I fear whatever they put out will make Andromeda look like a masterpiece. We got a real peak behind the curtain of BioWare’s mismanagement with Andromeda and Anthem. Correct me if I’m wrong here but have they put out one single game since Anthem? I want to be wrong but it seems downright immature to have anything remotely resembling hope for BioWare. All I can really have is dread as we move closer to the day that we receive final confirmation that BioWare is gone. Long live Larian.

shame the IP can't go to an independant studio that does care.

This will 100% be another corporate blunder with MTX attached.

What makes a great game is one either with truly patient shareholders or without any shareholders. EA will always be for the quick bucks and keeping their shareholders happy, rather than the gamers. Even with the flaws, BioWare will always be my favorite developer. PS: I've had Dragon Age: Dreadwolf on my Steam Wish List for the longest time.

its over, and you know it.

I love single player RPG's. I love many of the DA characters and the stories however my expectations are low for DA Dread Wolf. I want it to be good. I really do, but 10 years of nothing but setbacks looks bad. The statement that "Bioware is happy with the game" just looks like a generic PR statement to me. If Bioware was truly happy with the game, I think they would be really talking about it whether they reveal anything or not. They would be bragging about the great companions in the game or hinting at the storyline or something. They aren't doing that though. We have heard really nothing about the content of the game and that makes me wary. I won't be preordering it.

they already had their last chance for me with inquisition, and it did not go well. Not the real Bioware anymore since a long time.

I think as awlays the story will be pretty good but the gameplay is a complete D20

They must fix anthem first before I buy it

Dragon Age Origins was the best. EA should do a remasteer of this game so younger people who might have missed it can find out what all the fuss was about. This was the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate (without the Dungeons and Dragons license) much like how Fallout is considered the spiritual successor to Wastelend before we got Wasteland 2 and 3. I will have mid expectations. LOL I am actually more into the other EA RPG Kingdom of Amalur. I want this to get sequels. It was originally meant to be a MMO but turned into a single player open world action rpg (like Oblivion) and had a guy who worked on Tekken fighting games working on it to make combat fun. Obsidian needs a guy like that working on their RPGs for the melee combat imo. The art style: looks like WoW style if WoW was an action game. This was actually ported to nintendo Switch interestingly. My advice to EA is put some more money behind this franchise. All people that remember playing it remark it had cool fun combat. (arcadey similar to Dragon's Dogma)

Bioware had so many "last chances" it is its own meme. They were on an constant downhill path since DA2.

Inquisition was great other than the tedious grind between story missions. But the character creation, combat, romance, and story were great!

I still believe

My face is tired. That sentence alone will save the Franchise!

i guess ill buy it but i am not hopefull.

I bet they employed SBI , RIP bioware

If it's not gonna be even worse than inquisition I'll be highly surprised

i was wrong, this is not DA😂, why give us the sims 4, fortnite graphics with all the advancement in creating games, they gave it a civ 5 to civ 6 treatment

This is insanity thinking they actully care producing a great game rather than cashing on an istablished and not yet ruined ipo...

Calling it now, it will be bad. Don't even hope, this is just the final breath of a studio that died years ago.