David Gaider, the former lead writer for the Dragon Age series, has voiced significant pessimism regarding the franchise's future under Electronic Arts. Gaider, who considers Dragon Age his "baby," stated in a recent interview that he believes the series is "probably dead" in its current hands and would likely only see a revival if it were moved to a different publisher.
Throughout his tenure at BioWare, Gaider recalled that Dragon Age projects were constantly on the brink of cancellation. "We were always one breath away from the project being shelved," he explained, noting that the series only survived because its sales "kept surprising" EA. He pointed to the marketing of Dragon Age: Origins, which featured a Marilyn Manson track and graphic imagery, as an example of EA's fundamental misunderstanding of the RPG's appeal, presenting it as "edgelord nonsense for teen boys" rather than a mature fantasy experience.
This disconnect, Gaider suggested, persisted even with recent installments. EA CEO Andrew Wilson attributed perceived failings in The Witcher successor, titled "The Veilguard", to a lack of live service features, a perspective Gaider found both "hilarious" and "sad."
Gaider contrasted EA's treatment of Dragon Age with that of Mass Effect. He noted that while Mass Effect titles, perceived as more action-oriented and "slicker," received more understanding and fewer sales hurdles from EA, Dragon Age was often seen as "old-fashioned" and difficult to market. "Our action, ranging from Dragon Age: Origins, was a little bit on the slow, cumbersome side, and then was too fast," he said, describing EA's fluctuating perception. "They never knew what to do with it. So whenever a Dragon Age game sold well, we got excuses on the opposite side. Basically that it was a fluke."
Despite these challenges, Dragon Age: Inquisition achieved success, becoming BioWare's most profitable game, yet Gaider still felt the franchise was treated as an afterthought. He recalled a marketing head suggesting they needed to "put lipstick on a pig" to sell the game, a sentiment that undermined the development team.
While Gaider had previously stated he was done with the series, having left the Dragon Age team before departing BioWare entirely, his perspective has shifted. He admitted that if presented with the opportunity to lead a revival of the franchise, he "would like a challenge." He expressed interest in returning to the series' core appeal and exploring "somewhere dark and dangerous, and do things that will make people upset."