TheDragon Ageseries has been one of BioWare’s most beloved, with much anticipation among fans for the upcomingDragon Age: Dreadwolf. After the undeniable success of the first game,Dragon Ageestablished itself as another of BioWare’s popular single-player RPGs, and even though its sequel received some mixed reviews andDragon Age: Inquisitionwasn’t without its flaws,Dragon Age: Dreadwolfis setting itself up to be an exciting new chapter for the franchise. However, with some senior staff turnover since it started development, including its production director Mac Walters, a few fans are apprehensive about the state of the game.
BioWare learned its lesson after what many fans felt was a rushed development forDragon Age 2with slightly disappointing results, so there was a bigger gap between the release of the second and third game. Gamers have had to wait even longer for the fourth installment, with almost a decade passing sinceDragon Age: Inquisitionwas launched. While this might seem like a positive step to some and gives the game a good few years to get everything right, others might be concerned about the length of time thatDragon Age: Dreadwolfhas been in development and what this could mean for its eventual release.
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Mac Walters' Departure From Dragon Age
After almost two decades,Mac Walters announced recently that he was leaving BioWare. Walters joined the studio back in 2003, and was a writer forJade Empireand theMass Effectseries, becoming more senior and taking on more responsibility with the narrative direction of each game as the years passed. Following the success of the originalMass Effecttrilogy, Walters moved onto directing games likeAnthem,Mass Effect: Andromeda,and the recentMass Effect Legendary Editionremaster. With such an impressive resume, Walters has shown how he was involved in almost all the major releases coming out of BioWare in the past twenty years, and appeared from the outside to be an integral part of many of these games.
Most recently, Mac Walters was serving at the production director ofDragon Age: Dreadwolf.Although it might have seemed sudden or surprising to those outside of the studio considering that game hasn’t even been released yet, Walters' departure from BioWare appeared amicable. With a post on LinkedIn that confirmed his change of career direction, Walters reflected fondly on his time at BioWare and spoke about his gratitude toward his colleagues. However, this isn’t the firsthigh-profile departure from BioWarein recent years, and fans are understandably a little worried about how this will affect the studio’s releases.
How This Could Affect Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s Development
BioWare has been opening up a little more in the last few months regarding its next big release, providing some details aboutDragon Age: Dreadwolfand the direction of its narrative. Some of its features still remain under wraps, but with therecent release ofDragon Age: Absolutionin the build up to the game’s launch, fans are more than ready for Thedas' next chapter. However, it was a little concerning that the game’s production director left beforeDragon Age: Dreadwolfhad even passed the finish line, particularly when the end of development is crucial for polishing the title as much as possible and bringing everything together as the years of development draw to a close.
Some feel as ifBioWare gameshave had diminishing returns over the past few years, and the studio is very aware that the pressure is on to restore its reputation.Dragon Age: Dreadwolfis a massive opportunity for the developer to establish itself once more as a market leader, but with such a notable person in the game’s development leaving before it launches, it seems likeDragon Age: Dreadwolf’s road to launch has been just as turbulent as fans feared. Even though the game is in its final stages, this doesn’t mean Walters' departure won’t have a measurable impact on the final product, which could lose some of the cohesion it would have had if it retained the same steady hand on the helm right up until work on the title wrapped.
Recent leaks seem to suggest thatDragon Age: Dreadwolfis moving away from its traditional RPG roots, and this could be taken as more proof that the franchise is losing its way. With such a veteran leavingDragon Age: Dreadwolf, it could be an indication that the development moved into more unfamiliar territory, or that it was going to take more risks and introduce more new elements than might be expected for a typical narrative-focused RPG from BioWare. Walters might not have been the right fit for this vision considering his “old guard” status, so his departure could leave the door open for newer perspectives and voices to emerge, but fans won’t truly know the effect of this until the title launches.
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The Influences On Dragon Age: Dreadwolf So Far
Walters' departure aside, it already seems likeDragon Age: Dreadwolfhas been through the ringerwhen it comes to its development. By all accounts, the game has experienced some pretty major swerves over the years in terms of its structure and focus. Changing from single-player to online multiplayer to back again,Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s development could be categorized as a little messy. Some of the development team appeared to agree, with BioWare losing several senior developers and going through some staff turnover in the process that didn’t help ease fan concerns.
This transition to multiplayer and back again is a clear side effect ofAnthem’s poor reception. BioWare’s next two big games that players know are already on the way,Mass Effect 4andDragon Age: Dreadwolf, have reportedly been massively affected by howAnthemwas received by fans, which could have meant delays as well as other complications. The majority of fans seemed pleased that the upcomingDragon Agegame was remaining true to its predecessors and aiming to deliver a story-driven single player experience, but the apparent indecisiveness hasn’t helped fan confidence in the series' next entry. Expectations are already high, so BioWare really needs to deliver an exceptional title to help restore the faith of the gaming community in both the studio and its outputs, andDragon Age: Dreadwolfis hopefully a big step toward achieving that.
