Dragon Age Dreadwolf Is Avoiding Huge Anthem Mistake

It looks like BioWare and EA have learned an important lesson from Anthem and are avoiding replicating one of the biggest mistakes they made with it with their new game, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. When BioWare released Anthem in February 2019, it was only eight months after the game reached its Alpha milestone. To go from the Alpha milestone to release in eight months is a very quick turnaround, and it shows. Anthem was a technical mess and clearly needed more time in QA. Anthem had larger problems, but the lack of polish and stability when it released only exacerbated these other issues. Contrasting this is BioWare and EA's approach with Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, which reached its Alpha milestone in September, almost eight months ago. Yet, there's no sign of its release. Not only this but recently BioWare made a major move to ensure the transition from post-production to release is smoother. 

Yesterday, it was revealed that BioWare veteran Mark Darrah was being brought back to the studio to help see out the game's development. In addition to this, the majority of the team that's been working on the next Mass Effect game is also being brought on board for the same reason. Darrah, a former executive producer on the series, is being used as a consultant and to ensure the new experience with the series' legacy. 

"Our studio is focused on creating the best Dragon Age: Dreadwolf while the core Mass Effect team continues their pre-production work," said Gary McKay, BioWare general manager, in a statement given to GamesBeat. "We continue to iterate and polish Dreadwolf, focusing on the things that matter most to our fans. As we further connect this new experience with the series' legacy Mark Darrah will join the team as a consultant, bringing with him years of experience working on Dragon Age. We're proud to have this team, with strong leadership at the helm, working together to realize the vision we have for the game."

If Anthem came in hot, and it did, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is coming in nice and slow, or at least that's how it seems. BioWare is taking its time with the game and will continue to do so, as it looks like it probably won't be out until 2024. Typically, this is a good thing and leads to a better fianl product. There could be variables that disrupt this that we don't know about, which is why there are exceptions to this rule. Dragon Age fans will hope Dreadwolf is not one of these exceptions.