BioWare has had a bumpy few years, to say the least. With releases like Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and several big RPGs before those, the company was looked at as the golden standard for epic storytelling in immersive and companion-oriented RPGs. The release of Mass Effect: Andromeda sullied that reputation, and Anthem all but put the nail in the coffin.
Since then, it’s been an upward climb, but it is trending upward. Mass Effect: Andromeda’s reception has improved in the years since launch, and canceling Anthem was a saddening—if understandable—choice. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition reminded the world of what BioWare is capable of, and many are looking at it to deliver with its next two games (which don’t have official names quite yet): Dragon Age 4 and Mass Effect 4.
BioWare Goals for 2022 and Beyond
Reflecting on 2021, General Manager Gary McKay discussed how the studio adapted during the pandemic, its focus on earning its fanbase’s trust back, and making sure its games are “seminal” moments in the industry—much like the release of an Elder Scrolls game. The key thing fans should take from it is BioWare’s dedication to rebuilding its reputation, and that requires it to go all-in on its upcoming games.
Dragon Age 4 News in 2022
Dragon Age 4 has had a teaser trailer, concept arts, a concept trailer, a cinematic trailer, and more released thus far, but overall, it’s been quite hush-hush. It was announced in 2018, but this was very early with Dragon Age 4 reportedly not having a legitimate name at the time. That’s been over three years ago now, and beyond concept art, not much has been shared—nothing of in-game substance anyway. BioWare has, however, repeated that Dragon Age 4 is a single-player game a couple of times now, following rumors and reports that it was originally coming with a sizable multiplayer component.
When BioWare confirmed Dragon Age 4 wouldn’t be at The Game Awards 2021, it also stated that it’s “Excited for next year when [BioWare] can talk more about what [it’s] working on.” This phrasing is interesting; instead of just next year, it’s that BioWare can talk more about it in 2022. It might be nitpicking a phrase that goes unwarranted, but obviously, as games get closer to launch, devs can talk more about them. Now, that said, it’s incredibly unlikely Dragon Age 4 releases in 2022 (despite the Nvidia GeForce leak), but it could be that a real news cycle for the game launches this year.
That’s to say that, instead of continued concept art, concrete information about the game could come to light. That likely means more trailers, the actual title of Dragon Age 4, and maybe what’s going on with Solas, Tevinter, factions, and maybe companions/characters. It’s still very unlikely that BioWare reveals its whole hand this year, making all of this seem like for the end of the year. If its news cycle does pick up this year, though, 2023 does look good for Dragon Age 4—as reported by insider Jeff Grubb.
Mass Effect 4 Expectations in 2022
Mass Effect is a little odd compared to Dragon Age 4. The latter has a clear development timeline, of sorts. Its first iteration was canceled when more manpower was moved to Anthem, and when the new Dragon Age game was announced in 2018, the following news made it clear this version was super early in development. So, in a way, fans know that the new Dragon Age has crudely existed since 2018 and is really entering its fourth year, give or take, with 2022. So, 2023 means that it would have been in development (again, of sorts) for 5 years—a fair time.
A new Mass Effect game was first mentioned in a 2019 report—as “super early in development.” It was a whole year later before BioWare actually confirmed its development and that followed shortly with a trailer at The Game Awards 2020. It has slightly followed Dragon Age with small reveals including a new poster to celebrate N7 Day. Dragon Age has slightly more in terms of available content out there right now, but only slightly, making the comparison in terms of “which is further in development” hard to judge. So, crudely, it seems Mass Effect is trailing Dragon Age in development by a year, but how accurate that metric is and how well it can be used to judge the development of either is a coin toss.
If Dragon Age is targeting a 2023 release and if its new cycle were to pick up first, the most reasonable expectation is more of the same from both franchises heading later into the year: concept arts, small reveals, etc. When Dragon Age 4 does perk up its news cycle, Mass Effect may go quieter so everyone focuses on Dragon Age. Mass Effect will probably follow Dragon Age a year or two afterward, and that’s assuming it goes well. For Mass Effect fans, the best bet in terms of managing expectations is to see when and what more comes of Dragon Age and shift ideas for Mass Effect back by a year or so from it.
Future BioWare Games
After Anthem, it’s pretty clear what fans can expect from future BioWare games: single-player RPGs. This is good because many fans are reasonably concerned about the future of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, and knowing there’s no live-service or multiplayer components is great. Hopefully, however, BioWare does pursue a new IP and a new innovative, single-player game. While it clearly learned its lesson from Anthem, and Dragon Age and Mass Effect are the best way forward for now, the ultimate goal is likely to hit new heights with its games…not just reclaim what it has lost.