Dragon Age 4 Executive Producer Addresses New Role and Studio Departures

Dragon Age fans were understandably a bit worried after news broke that two high profile members of the Bioware team would be leaving the studio, and one of those names happened to be Mark Darrah, who was the executive producer of the upcoming Dragon Age 4. Darrah is departing along with Bioware GM Casey Hudson, and following the news, Bioware announced who would be taking over those roles. Those positions will fall to Samantha Ryan, who will oversee the studio as a whole, and Christian Dailey, who is taking over for Darrah as executive producer on Dragon Age 4. After the news hit Dailey released a note to fans of the franchise, addressing the new role, taking over from Darrah, and what they hope to deliver with the next sequel in the franchise, and you can read it in its entirety below.

"Friends,

Happy Dragon Age Day!

I'd like to extend a huge thank you to Laura, Casey and Mark for their kind words yesterday, and confidence in me during this transition. Casey and Mark, who I've worked with over the last three years have both been such a positive influence, and I have learned so much from them. It is bittersweet indeed. I am going to miss working with them every day, but I know we will remain friends and I am excited for them as they embark on their next adventures.

Obviously stepping into this role on Dragon Age after Mark is a bit humbling. Mark is someone that I look up to and is a true BioWare legend. We all hope to make him proud as we look to deliver the best Dragon Age story yet, otherwise we know we'll hear about it….

I am really looking forward to getting to know all of you and sharing insights into the development as we move into next year. If you already follow me on Twitter, you know I like to share details throughout the dev process and I hope to do the same as we continue our work on Dragon Age.

In the meantime, check out the new Dragon Age website that launched today that includes some cool new stories and illustrations.

Looking forward to sharing more soon.

Have a great Dragon Age Day, and a safe, relaxing holiday, all.

Christian"

Earlier in the day, we heard from Darrah, who addressed leaving the studio, Christian stepping in, and how confident he was in the team working on the game, and you can find an excerpt from that below.

"Dragon Age will be in good hands. Christian Dailey will be moving into the Executive Producer role. Christian Dailey is a strong leader and will provide great insight into the rest of the Dragon Age leadership who remain," Darrah wrote. "This is a team that includes people with decades of experience at BioWare. I am confident that, together, this is the team that can make this Dragon Age the best one yet.

Matthew Goldman remains the Creative Director. He has been on Dragon Age since the early days of Dragon Age: Origins. Like me, he has been involved in the franchise as it has changed over the years. He has a deep understanding of what it has been and what it has the potential to be."

The game is going to have a presence at The Game Awards, and we can't wait to see what the team has in store.

Are you excited for Dragon Age 4? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things Dragon Age with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!