Dragon Age: The Veilguard is one of the more polarizing releases in the beloved RPG series' history despite largely positive reviews, with the writing and story in particular being the most contentious talking point among fans. If former series boss Mark Darrah could point to a reason, and if he carried himself with literally zero humility, he'd probably say it's because he left developer BioWare in 2021 and only served as a freelance consultant on Dragon Age: The Veilguard in the final stretch of development. The fact that he wasn't one of the project leads meant the developers were within their rights to simply ignore his suggestions, and according to Darrah, they frequently did do that.
"There were lots of things that I made recommendations on that were not listened to," Darrah tells Eldorado.gg. "And in fact, in some cases, I would make a recommendation, it was ignored, and then a different group that was also helping would make the same recommendation, and then it was listened to. So it was definitely a frustrating experience for me."
Darrah previously attributed the downfall of Dragon Age to BioWare's preference for "simpler" and "more accessible" RPGs, which he said prevented it from having a major hit like Baldur's Gate 3.
Dragon Age, not to mention Mass Effect and other BioWare franchises, are back in the news following EA's abrupt closure of the studio and cancelation of Mass Effect 5. And before you put the blame on any one game, developer, or team within BioWare, it's worth noting the recently completed $55 billion leveraged buyout of EA by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partner.
