A potential remaster of the original Dragon Age trilogy is unlikely to materialize because current BioWare staff lack the necessary knowledge of the older game engines, according to former producer Mark Darrah. Darrah revealed that a "champion edition" for Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age: Inquisition was previously considered during his tenure at the studio.
Unlike the Mass Effect trilogy, which was successfully remastered using the Unreal Engine, the Dragon Age games were built on the Aurora engine and its derivatives. Dragon Age: Origins utilized the Eclipse Engine, an enhanced version of Aurora, while Dragon Age 2 employed the Lycium Engine, also based on Aurora. Dragon Age: Inquisition, however, runs on the Frostbite engine, which would present fewer modernization challenges compared to its predecessors.
Darrah stated that a significant hurdle for remastering the first two Dragon Age titles is the absence of employees at BioWare who understand the Aurora engine. He noted that there are few external companies capable of assisting with such a project, unlike with Unreal Engine. He further elaborated that creating a Dragon Age trilogy remaster would necessitate the formation of a new team, a prospect he finds improbable given EA's operational philosophy regarding employee allocation. This would mean dedicating staff to a remaster instead of other ongoing projects.
Despite these technical and logistical challenges, Darrah believes that a Dragon Age trilogy remaster would likely be a commercial success. The reliance on proprietary engines has created a situation where institutional knowledge of older development tools diminishes as staff depart or are laid off. For EA, undertaking such a project now would likely require substantial investment in time and resources to overcome the knowledge gap concerning the engine's intricacies.