- A former Dragon Age producer says remasters of the earlier games are unlikely.
- The issue, as he puts it, is tied to lost knowledge of BioWare’s older engine technology.
- The comments make a Mass Effect Legendary Edition-style Dragon Age collection seem less realistic.
Dragon Age fans have long asked whether EA and BioWare could revisit the franchise’s earlier entries with a modern remaster package, especially after the disappointing latest outing with Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Because Mass Effect Legendary Edition showed there was still a strong audience for polished versions of older BioWare RPGs, many hoped for similar treatment for Dragon Age. However, a series veteran says this is highly unlikely.
Why it matters: The modern era has shown time and again why remasters and remakes work so well. Both BioWare and EA would likely benefit from re-releasing classic games because of this reason.
Speaking to FRVR (via Resetera), former Dragon Age producer Mark Darrah said a Dragon Age remaster trilogy is unlikely because the people who understood the old engine are no longer at BioWare.
Dragon Age is one of BioWare’s most important RPG franchises, but its early games were built on older technology that is no longer central to the studio’s current development pipeline.
It goes without saying, but a remaster trilogy would likely need engineers familiar with old tools, gameplay systems, content pipelines, etc. If that knowledge has left the studio, the cost and risk of the project rise quickly.
For context, Mass Effect Legendary Edition worked partly because EA and BioWare had a clear understanding of its technology, which was largely built upon Unreal Engine. Bioware’s Aurora Engine, on the other hand, seems to have been lost to time.
There’s basically no one outside of BioWare that understands the Aurora engine. There are basically no companies that could help you.
Mark Darrah also admitted that pursuing a remaster would require EA putting together a brand new team.
He notes that a Dragon Age Origins remaster would probably sell quite well, but its success would largely depend on EA’s ability to recruit veteran BioWare staff for the project. Whether this would be possible is a completely different question altogether.
Of course, EA also has the option to remake titles from the franchise. This option would allow the publisher to bypass these technological hurdles, but it seems not much attention is being paid to the IP for now.
Would Dragon Age remasters still be worth it in the modern era? Let’s discuss in the comments section below.
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