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Fact check: Fuck modern Bioware for what they did to the Dragon Age franchise. EA and Bioware deserver every last big to financial hardship coming their way.
1. Summary of the results
The frustration expressed in the original statement appears to be rooted in verifiable commercial and creative challenges at BioWare. Dragon Age: The Veilguard significantly underperformed, reaching only 1.5 million players - 50% below EA's expectations [1]. This represents a dramatic decline from previous successes like Dragon Age: Inquisition, which sold over 12 million copies [2].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
The original statement overlooks several important contextual factors:
- Internal Creative Decline: Former writer David Gaider revealed that BioWare's problems began before EA's influence, as the studio gradually devalued its writing team and storytelling priorities [3].
- Broader Pattern of Struggles: The issues extend beyond just Dragon Age - Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem also underperformed commercially [2].
- Strategic Shifts: BioWare is now restructuring and shifting focus to Mass Effect 5 [4], suggesting a strategic rather than purely financial decision.
- Industry Expert Perspective: Larian Studios' publishing director argues that the layoffs represent short-sighted cost-cutting that sacrifices valuable institutional knowledge [5].
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The statement's emotional tone oversimplifies a complex situation:
- It places all blame on "modern BioWare" and EA, when internal sources suggest the decline began gradually and involved multiple factors [3].
- The financial difficulties aren't just "deserved punishment" but have real consequences for developers losing their jobs through layoffs [4].
- While The Veilguard did have significant problems with "tone, writing, RPG mechanics, and overall design" [6], attributing this solely to EA's influence ignores BioWare's own role in these creative decisions.
The situation appears to be more complex than simple corporate mismanagement, involving a combination of creative, strategic, and financial factors that have contributed to the franchise's current state.