EA CEO Andrew Wilson recently addressed the disappointing financial performance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, stating that the game failed to "resonate with a broad enough audience." Following this, EA made significant changes by restructuring Dragon Age developer BioWare to focus solely on Mass Effect 5. This restructuring involved shifting some of the team members who worked on The Veilguard to other projects within EA studios.
The decision to restructure came after EA announced that Dragon Age: The Veilguard did not meet the company's expectations for the highly anticipated action RPG. EA reported that the game "engaged" 1.5 million players in its recent financial quarter, a figure that fell nearly 50% short of their projections.
IGN has documented several development challenges faced by Dragon Age: The Veilguard, including layoffs, and the departure of several project leads at various stages. According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, BioWare staff felt it was a miracle that the game was released as a complete product, especially after EA initially pushed for a live-service model before reversing course.
During an investor-focused financial call, Wilson emphasized that role-playing games need to incorporate "shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives" to succeed in today's market. He commented, "In order to break out beyond the core audience, games need to directly connect to the evolving demands of players who increasingly seek shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives in this beloved category."
Wilson noted that while Dragon Age: The Veilguard had a high-quality launch and was well-reviewed, it did not capture a wide enough audience in the highly competitive market. This suggests that incorporating shared-world features and deeper engagement might have boosted its sales. However, this perspective seems at odds with EA's initial support for BioWare's decision to shift Dragon Age from a multiplayer framework to a full-blown single-player RPG, as reported by IGN.
Fans are vocal about their belief that EA has drawn the wrong conclusions from Dragon Age: The Veilguard's performance, especially considering the success of recent single-player RPGs like Larian's Baldur's Gate 3. This has led to concerns that Dragon Age may be on indefinite hiatus. The focus now shifts to Mass Effect 5, with EA CFO Stuart Canfield discussing the restructuring of BioWare, which involved reducing the studio from 200 to less than 100 employees.
Canfield highlighted that the game's financial performance reflects the evolving industry landscape and underscores the importance of reallocating resources to high-potential opportunities. It's important to note that single-player games constitute a small fraction of EA's total revenue, with live service games accounting for 74% of the company's earnings in the last 12 months. Titles like Ultimate Team, Apex Legends, The Sims, and the upcoming Skate and Battlefield games drive this revenue, all of which are live service models.
