A recent report has uncovered new details about the troubled development of *Dragon Age: The Veilguard*, casting doubt on the future of BioWare as a studio. In January, EA publicly acknowledged that the game had “underperformed” by approximately 50% compared to expectations, just days after key personnel departures—including director Corrine Busche—and layoffs among the development team. Around the same time, BioWare officially announced that the final update for *The Veilguard* had been released, with no further content planned.

IGN previously covered how *The Veilguard* underwent multiple developmental shifts, transitioning from a single-player RPG into a live-service multiplayer title and back again. Now, according to a detailed report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, internal turmoil during development significantly impacted the game's narrative quality—particularly its lack of meaningful player choice and consequence, which are hallmarks of BioWare’s most celebrated titles.

Schreier highlighted how many of the game’s narrative flaws stemmed from the last-minute pivot back to a single-player format. One particularly telling detail involved BioWare executives expressing concern over the game’s initially snarky tone, fearing it might mirror the poorly received *Forspoken*. As a result, a rushed rewrite was ordered to make the dialogue sound more serious, leading to tonal inconsistency throughout the game.

There were also internal frustrations regarding the marketing strategy for *The Veilguard*. Early promotional material reportedly made the game appear more like a stylized action title akin to *Fortnite* rather than the deep, dark fantasy RPG fans expected—raising concerns within the studio that EA lacked a clear vision for how to present the next *Dragon Age* entry.

EA declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg for this story.

The commercial and critical failure of *The Veilguard* has led to broader worries about BioWare’s long-term viability. While a small team is currently working on *Mass Effect 5*, the studio has now experienced three consecutive major disappointments—including *Mass Effect: Andromeda* and *Anthem*. With *Dragon Age* seemingly on life support, speculation mounts over whether EA will ultimately shut down BioWare altogether.

As TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz noted, while EA needs more than just sports games to thrive, “if they shuttered the doors [of BioWare] tomorrow I wouldn’t be totally surprised. It has been over a decade since they produced a hit.”

For the full in-depth analysis, check out the complete report via Bloomberg.