Former BioWare developers have shared their perspectives on Dragon Age: The Veilguard following comments from EA CEO Andrew Wilson regarding the game's perceived failure. During a financial call, Wilson noted that Dragon Age: The Veilguard did not "resonate with a broad enough audience," which led to EA restructuring BioWare to focus solely on Mass Effect 5. This shift resulted in some staff being reassigned to other EA projects, while others faced layoffs.

EA had announced that Dragon Age: The Veilguard attracted 1.5 million players in its recent financial quarter, falling significantly short of the company's expectations. Reports from IGN detailed the game's development challenges, including layoffs, the departure of key project leads, and a significant shift in the game's direction. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, the completion of Dragon Age: The Veilguard was considered a miracle by BioWare staff, especially after EA initially pushed for a live-service model before reversing course.

Wilson emphasized the need for BioWare's role-playing games to incorporate "shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives" to meet EA's success criteria. He suggested that Dragon Age: The Veilguard, despite its high-quality launch and positive reviews, failed to capture a wide enough audience in the competitive gaming market.

In response, former BioWare staff took to social media to voice their opinions. David Gaider, who created the Dragon Age setting and served as its narrative lead before leaving BioWare in 2016, criticized EA's takeaway from The Veilguard's performance. He argued that suggesting the game should have been a live service was shortsighted and self-serving. Gaider advised EA to focus on what made Dragon Age successful at its peak and emulate the approach of Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian, which has seen immense success with a primarily single-player RPG.

Mike Laidlaw, former creative director on Dragon Age and now chief creative officer at Yellow Brick Games, echoed Gaider's sentiments. He stated that he would quit if pressured to transform a beloved single-player game into a purely multiplayer one, highlighting the absurdity of fundamentally changing a game's DNA to meet corporate demands.

Following these developments, Dragon Age appears to be on hold, with BioWare's full attention now on Mass Effect 5, led by series veterans. EA CFO Stuart Canfield justified the restructuring, emphasizing the need to reallocate resources to projects with the highest potential in the evolving gaming industry.