If you were hoping for a remastered Dragon Age trilogy, it’s time to let go: Mark Darrah says Electronic Arts repeatedly rejected BioWare’s proposals to bring the classic RPGs back in upgraded form.

Dragon Age is one of those RPG franchises that defined an entire generation with its mix of tough choices, unforgettable characters, and combat that demands strategic thinking. For many fans, returning to Thedas with enhanced visuals, modern controls, and quality-of-life improvements would be the ultimate treat. The runaway success of Mass Effect Legendary Edition proved that a Dragon Age remaster could attract both longtime players and newcomers alike.

EA Rejected Dragon Age Remasters

It’s long been an open secret that the community wants to revisit Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, and the 2014 Game of the Year winner Dragon Age: Inquisition in a definitive edition with upgraded graphics and controls. In a recent interview with MrMattyPlays, franchise veteran Mark Darrah revealed that BioWare tried multiple times to produce a trilogy remaster in the style of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, but Electronic Arts turned them down each time.

BioWare even pitched EA on a rebranded package, bundling all three upgraded games into a single mega-edition called The Champions’s Trilogy (via The Gamer). The studio explored various ways to “bring Origins into the present”, including a full remake, but those plans fell apart. Darrah added that “a successful remaster would be an ideal way to reintroduce players to the series, but EA has shown no willingness to finance such a project.”

Remastering Dragon Age would be a technical challenge due to the differing engines and design approaches across the games. As Darrah put it, “there are barely 20 people on the team who know how to use the Eclipse engine” at BioWare. In short, don’t expect to see Dragon Age back in the spotlight anytime soon.

“They didn’t get along.” Despite delivering iconic RPGs, BioWare was far from idyllic, and the tensions between the Dragon Age and Mass Effect teams are proof of that.

To make matters worse, Dragon Age: The Veilguard has reportedly failed to meet EA’s expectations, prompting layoffs at BioWare. The studio is now working on Mass Effect 5 with fewer than 100 developers, while the sci-fi RPG is also getting a TV adaptation from Amazon, produced by the same team behind the hit Fallout series.

Source: 3djuegos