BioWare: Dragon Age 4 will be 'what a Dragon Age should be'

BioWare might plan to infuse live game storytelling into future Mass Effect and Dragon Age games, but it this won't dramatically change the core principles of each series.

Yesterday we reported that new Mass Effect and Dragon Age games may start to evolve into more online-based titles like BioWare's next releaseAnthem. BioWare has confirmed a new Dragon Age is in the works, and key sources say it'll be a live game (it also hinted that a new Mass Effect is in early phases). With live services the studio could continually evolve storytelling at a much faster and more efficient pace as well as incrementally change in-game worlds, BioWare devs Mark Darrah and Mike Gamble said in a PAX West panel. But this led many to believe that its beloved RPG series would morph into microtransaction-ridden services.

BioWare General Manager Casey Hudson wants to assure us that this won't happen--upcoming Dragon Age and Mass Effect games will be built around the heart of each respective series, hinting that if live services are included, they will be optional rather than forced online-only experiences.

"Some weird stuff going around about how our future games will be influenced by Anthem. Of course when we do a Dragon Age game it will be designed from the ground up based on what Dragon Age should be. Same with Mass Effect," BioWare General Manager Casey Hudson said in a recent Tweet.

"Anthem is a specific thing that's unique from our other IPs in many ways. What carries forward is what we learn about game design, which is a constant evolution."

In the PAX West panel, executive producer Mark Darrah was asked how Anthem will affect future BioWare games.

He answered:

"One of the things we've really done in Anthem is focus a lot of attention on Fort Tarsis [the in-game hub world]. [With agents and their interactions] it's the primary place of reactive storytelling. As a result we've pushed Tarsis further than we've ever pushed any of our hubs before.

"It's a more reactive space, a space that feels more living and alive, and I think going forward in future Dragon Age games or other games that you're going to see that reactivity, that depth, in our hubs that we've really been able to bring out in Anthem."

Anthem, the studio's ambitious new online-only multiplayer game, will release February 22, 2019 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The studio has yet to formally announce the next Dragon Age game.