I am pleased to confirm that we are, in fact, working on the next Dragon Age game. Not a big surprise to most of you, I know. We have been working on it in some way for about two years now with the bulk of our efforts ramping up about 18 months ago.
Part of that effort has involved you, our fans, and the feedback you´ve provided for Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, and their DLC. We´ve visited message boards, read reviews, and we´ve gone to events to have direct face to face conversations with some of our most passionate fans. We´ve been listening, and we will continue to listen.
Recently, I said that we didn´t want to talk about Dragon Age III unless we had something to show. I´m trying to stick to that plan and won´t be revealing much today. That said, a lot of information and rumors have surfaced recently and we don´t want to hide from them. There are a BUNCH of things that I really want to share with you but I want to do this right, and doing it right requires some more time.
So here´s what I can confirm for now:
[ul]
[li]The next game will be called Dragon Age III: Inquisition.[/li]> [li]We won´t be talking about the story of the game today. Though you can make some guesses from the title.[/li]> [li]This game is being made by a lot of the same team that has been working on Dragon Age since Dragon Age: Origins. It´s composed of both experienced BioWare veterans and talented new developers.[/li]> [li]We are working on a new engine which we believe will allow us to deliver a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization. At PAX East, we talked about armour and followers… Yeah, that kind of customisation. We´ve started with Frostbite 2 from DICE as a foundation to accomplish this.[/li]> [li]There´s much more to talk about, of course, but it will have to wait until it´s ready for the prime time.[/li]> [/ul]
We are going to be as open as we can. We will continue to have a dialogue with you and answer what questions we can. Keep providing us with your feedback. I´m excited about what we are working on and I hope that you will be too. I know this is going to be hard to believe, but it is just as hard for me not to tell you stuff as it is for you to wait.
With thanks for your enthusiasm, and your patience,
Well, I’m not exactly waiting with bated breath after DAII. I’m glad some people enjoyed it and I can appreciate a few of the design decisions and characters, but the game was such a let-down in several ways that I’ve pretty much given up on the franchise.
Still, I’ll be curious to see what the end result is.
Oh, I’m right there with you. I’m curious to see where they go and what they do with the franchise, but it’s definitely not a day 1 purchase for me. I’m going to have to see some really positive reviews from people I trust before I put any money down on this.
I can give them one more chance, I suppose. The Frostbite engine for a RPG is interesting, the old engine was clearly that, old, even if they got some decent stuff from it in DA1.
I will believe the “more reactivity to player choices” when I see it, of course.
The next game will be called Dragon Age III: Inquisition.
We won´t be talking about the story of the game today. Though you can make some guesses from the title.
Mages are being hunted and killed throughout the land, but you can still walk around town with 2 or 3 of them in your party!
I thought the Chantry-mages conflict was kind of boring in Dragon Age II. I liked it when it was a small part of the entire universe in Origins. I hope they make it more interesting than just a Bioware dichotomy trope.
So…a 2015 release? This is barely a release announcement.
I want more like X-Com. You hear about it and then within a reasonable amount of time, you have it in your hands. No game is worth getting excited over if it is months and months away.
I’m pretty interested in the direction the game will take after the criticism of DA2. I hope they tone down the actiony part of the game and up the old-style RPG, with more customization of class and character and less focus on the combat. It’s going to be something to keep an eye on, regardless.
I hope it’s a return to the isometric party based combat from Origins instead of the “God of War” style action based combat that I could never really enjoy from DAII. How they handle the tactical combat and party management is a big concern for me. It’s nice they are talking being able to customize your character, but I want Dragon Age Origins levels of customization and character building, not Final Fantasy VII.
DMONTON, Alberta–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BioWare, a Label of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), today announced Dragon Age™ 3: Inquisition, the next chapter in the award-winning role-playing game (RPG) franchise, is in development at BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Montreal. Coming in late 2013, Dragon Age 3: Inquisition combines the storytelling legacy BioWare is known for, with deep RPG gameplay, all on a brand new RPG game engine underpinned by EA’s critically-acclaimed Frostbite™ 2 technology.
“The Dragon Age team has been working on Dragon Age 3: Inquisition for almost two years now,” said Aaryn Flynn, General Manager of BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Montreal. “We’ve been poring over player feedback from past games and connecting directly with our fans. They haven’t held back, so we’re not either. With Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, we want to give fans what they’re asking for – a great story with choices that matter, a massive world to explore, deep customization and combat that is both tactical and visceral.”
Added Flynn, “At the same time, we know we need new technology to truly make this vision become fully realized. And we’ve been working with DICE to make Frostbite 2 the foundation for the engine that is going to power Dragon Age 3.”
The Dragon Age franchise has received over 80 awards from critics around the world, and has sold over 8 million copies to date*. Created by BioWare, the property has spawned many novels, an animated film, comic books, collectibles and more since Dragon Age: Origins launched in 2009.
For more information about Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, including updates from the development team and a letter to the fans from Executive Producer Mark Darrah, please visit the game’s official web site at http://dragonage.com. Dragon Age fans can also receive updates on Twitter® at http://twitter.com/dragonage, or on Facebook at Redirecting....
I was just exaggerating figuring they would take forever. I guess if they have been on it for 2 years already with little to show for it, they are getting some of the forever out of the way early.
RPG, action, party banter, customization…I liked those things in the past Dragon Ages.
Why is it necessary after every game is released to then “reinvent” the game? Why can’t they just re-imagine the world, give us a good plot, some fresh characters and let us go?
Connecting directly with their fans will not be likely to change anything fundamentally since Bioware’s Weltanschauung has attracted the fans they currently have. They haven’t made a game I’ve really enjoyed for years. Even Dragon Age: Origins left a bad taste in my mouth at a basic level.
I’m going to be watching to see what they deliver. I loved Dragon Age and found DA2 ok, even with its obvious flaws. If they can move closer to DA1 with this third game then its probably worth a look.
Bioware seems to triangulate their game designs based on criticism from players. So if Mass Effect 3 is any indication, the gameplay in DA3 will be better improved than DA2, and less clunky than DA1.
