Dragon Age’s Future in Question as Writer David Gaider Shares His Vision
The future of Dragon Age is up in the air right now. As EA and BioWare shift focus to other efforts, longtime franchise writer David Gaider—who played a major role in shaping what made the series hit—says he does have an idea of what he would do if the RPG returned to his hands. The series has been thrown into uncertainty since the launch of 2024’s The Veilguard, especially after EA cut a sizable portion of BioWare staff following the game’s weak financial performance.
Two years have passed since Dragon Age: The Veilguard released, and the outlook still isn’t encouraging. EA’s CEO pinned the underperformance on a perceived shortage of live-service elements, framing The Veilguard as a notable financial miss. The game also marked the first Dragon Age entry written without Gaider’s involvement, even though he’s a familiar name to anyone who followed the franchise’s development. Now, the former BioWare writing lead has shared what he would try to do with the franchise if he got the chance.
With Dragon Age: The Veilguard already out, BioWare may eventually move toward another reveal—one that fans are likely to watch closely.
Dragon Age Creator Reveals What He’d Do With Dragon Age 5
In a recent interview with PC Gamer, former BioWare lead writer David Gaider said he thinks Dragon Age could be effectively finished at EA. Still, if he were given an opportunity to come back to the series, he would be willing to take on that challenge. Gaider explained that he would want to “go back to the basics of what made Dragon Age appeal to so many people in the first place,” then push the story into “something dark and dangerous,” including choices that would genuinely upset people. He described himself as someone who would try to “bring life” back to the franchise, even calling Dragon Age “his baby.” At the same time, he doesn’t sound optimistic about the series’ prospects while EA remains in charge.
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During his time at BioWare, Gaider said he could see EA showing little confidence in Dragon Age releases—despite the fact that the games repeatedly exceeded the publisher’s own expectations. He felt EA simply didn’t grasp what made the series resonate with players. Gaider also pointed to past remarks from EA ahead of releases, including the idea that the publisher had to “put lipstick on a pig in order to sell it.” In his view, that attitude made Dragon Age feel like a lesser option when stacked against Mass Effect. Even so, Gaider emphasized he holds no resentment toward Mass Effect, describing it as an excellent RPG.
Gaider, who served as lead writer on Dragon Age: Origins and continued in that role through every sequel up to Inquisition, said he has no intention of ever playing The Veilguard. He linked that decision directly to how deeply involved he was in creating the franchise. In 2015, Gaider stepped away from the position of lead Dragon Age writer after Inquisition, stating that he wanted to make room for new voices and stories within the series. Still, he now claims he “selfishly” doesn’t want to see any changes made to his “baby,” whether those changes end up being good or bad. He also added that he doesn’t want to play The Veilguard because he knows too much about what happens “behind the scenes,” and he believes EA handicapped the team from the very beginning.
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At the moment, Gaider is working on other plans through Summerfall Studios, a company he co-founded after leaving BioWare following Anthem’s release. Summerfall is reportedly building a heist RPG, and Gaider says the concept makes him smile. However, the studio appears to be dealing with funding difficulties at present. Whether Summerfall manages to secure backing and finish its game—or whether Gaider ends up working on Dragon Age again—remains uncertain.
