In a recent interview, Darrah offered the unorthodox advice to the dev team of the upcoming Mass Effect to use the failures of Dragon Age: The Veilguard to their own advantage. The previous executive producer of the Dragon Age franchise admitted, “use Veilguard as a scapegoat as much as they need to get what they need” from Electronic Arts. Darrah’s insights come on the heels of increased scrutiny over BioWare and the strong underperformance of The Veilguard, which was struggling to meet its commercial goals.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard was in development for nearly a decade. It received positive reviews upon release but struggled to attract a player base. Earlier this year, EA disclosed that the game had actually underperformed, attracting only a mere 1.5 million players in its first quarter, about 50% less than anticipated. The disappointment caused fishy layoffs at BioWare, with continued threat on the studio heading into its next major title.
Darrah’s comments, during a chat with MrMattyPlays, were strategies to manipulate publisher demands. They suggested that, by embodying the mistakes during The Veilguard’s own production, the Mass Effect team would be able to siphon off necessary resources and creative freedom so as not to trip over any of those issues again. While Darrah did not name those mistakes, one is well known: The Veilguard was originally envisioned as a live service game, and late in development decided against being environmentally resistant as a risk to produce single-player. That could have made the project harder to manage.
He also addressed an age-old dilemma at the studio, stating that past projects tended to “cannibalize” one another. His counsel appears to promote a more singular focus for the next Mass Effect, a project for which little information currently exists. Given that BioWare’s future now hinges on how well this title performs, Darrah’s advice illustrates both the pressure and the stakes involved. The next Mass Effect must not only honor its predecessor’s legacy but also help convince its publisher that the studio is still able to pull off a major hit.
