EA CEO: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Fails to Connect with Broad Audience, Gamers Crave Shared-World Features

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has addressed the financial underperformance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, stating that the game failed to "resonate with a broad enough audience." This statement comes in the wake of EA's decision to restructure Dragon Age developer BioWare to focus exclusively on Mass Effect 5, resulting in some team members being reassigned to other projects within EA studios.

The decision to shift focus was prompted by Dragon Age: The Veilguard's disappointing performance. EA reported that the game engaged 1.5 million players during its recent financial quarter, a figure that fell nearly 50% short of the company's projections. IGN has documented various development challenges faced by Dragon Age: The Veilguard, including layoffs and the departure of several project leads at different stages of development. According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, BioWare staff consider it a miracle that the game was released as a complete product, given EA's initial push for a live-service model and subsequent reversal.

During an investor-focused financial call, Wilson emphasized the need for role-playing games to incorporate "shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives." He suggested that Dragon Age: The Veilguard's lack of these elements may have contributed to its failure to attract a wider audience in a highly competitive market.

Wilson's comments imply that the inclusion of shared-world features and deeper engagement could have potentially increased the game's sales. However, this perspective seems at odds with EA's earlier decision to pivot Dragon Age from a multiplayer game with repeatable quests to a full-blown single-player RPG, as reported by IGN.

Fans have expressed concern that EA may be drawing the wrong conclusions from Dragon Age: The Veilguard's performance, especially given the recent success of single-player RPGs like Larian's Baldur's Gate 3. With Dragon Age seemingly on indefinite hiatus, attention now turns to the future of Mass Effect 5.

EA CFO Stuart Canfield discussed the company's decision to restructure BioWare, which has involved reducing the studio's size from 200 to less than 100 people. Canfield highlighted the evolving industry landscape and the importance of reallocating resources to maximize potential opportunities. He noted that while single-player games constitute a small portion of EA's revenue, the majority (74% in the last 12 months) comes from live service models, with significant contributions from titles like Ultimate Team, Apex Legends, and The Sims. Upcoming titles such as Skate and the next Battlefield are also expected to follow the live service model.