EA’s Definitive “No” to Dragon Age Remasters Exposes Corporate Blindness
Hello everyone. Strap in, because today we’re diving headfirst into yet another one of those gaming industry moves that makes you wonder whether the decision-makers are drinking from a fountain of wisdom… or just straight from a vat of lobotomy serum. This time, it’s Electronic Arts – the gaming equivalent of that one MMO guild leader who ignores all raid feedback and then wonders why everyone’s dead before the boss hits phase two.
The short version? Ex-BioWare boss Mark Darrah has confirmed they actually wanted to remaster Dragon Age: Origins, II, and Inquisition in one shiny collection – tentatively pitched as The Champions Trilogy. A respectful nod to the series’ three wildly different protagonists. But when they told EA, the corporate mothership said, “No thanks.” Of course, EA’s legendary aversion to remasters is well-documented – and every time someone points out how they’d literally be printing money, they act like you’ve just suggested a homeopathic cure for server downtime. It’s odd for a publicly traded company to be allergic to revenue. Then again, maybe they’ve unlocked the secret achievement: “Burn Potential Profits – Legendary Tier.”
The Technical Excuses
Now, let’s be fair – and by fair, I mean about as forgiving as a Dark Souls boss. The first two Dragon Age games run on BioWare’s internal Eclipse Engine, while Inquisition was slapped together on Frostbite for maximum engine-related pain and suffering. Compare that to Mass Effect’s first three games, all nice and snuggled up on Unreal Engine 3, and you can see why a remaster would be trickier.
Darrah basically spells it out: to do this right, they’d need to either hire a whole new team just to reverse-engineer all the ancient tech, or pull existing staff off current projects (you know, like finishing current games – the part EA seems to think magically happens without resources). But still – this is Dragon Age we’re talking about. The franchise that gave us morally gray choices, witty party banter, and enough mage-vs-templar drama to power three months of heated subreddit debates. The brand value alone would be worth the effort. Unless, of course, you’re EA, in which case, chasing easy wins is beneath you.
The “Champions Trilogy” That Never Was
Let’s be honest – branding the three games as a cohesive trilogy is a bold bluff. Origins and II barely handshake narratively, and Inquisition feels like a side quest that accidentally got promoted to main story status. Trying to thread those three into one grand, continuous arc would be like trying to mod Skyrim into a coherent Final Fantasy plot – you can try, but expect the seams to show. Still, it would’ve been worth it for the sheer indulgence of having the series’ greatest hits in one place, with maybe some modern polish so you don’t feel like you’re playing through a hazy fever dream.
The Bigger Picture: EA’s Goldfish Approach to Memory
Darrah’s candidness about EA’s dislike of remasters is both illuminating and depressing. For a company that worships at the altar of shareholders, their disdain for what is essentially free capital is genuinely baffling. Unless, maybe, they’re afraid that fans will remember how good BioWare used to be – and then notice that modern EA BioWare is more “medicated patient recovering from severe identity loss” than “bold RPG pioneer slaying dragons.”
This isn’t about nostalgia – it’s about preservation, legacy, and yes, making money off people who would gladly pay again to hear Varric tell one more sarcastic story. In the gaming world, remasters aren’t just quick cash grabs – they’re often a way to reintroduce classics to new audiences, extend brand life, and keep the IP relevant without needing to ship a rushed sequel that gets patched five times before it stops crashing on the title screen.
Instead…
Instead, EA decided to pass. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is on the horizon, but given the company’s track record, there’s an ever-present feeling it will launch like an MMO raid where the healers showed up late and half the DPS are using starter gear. Darrah’s return as a consultant might help, but he’s one man – not a resurrection spell.
EA has somehow managed to sidestep the easiest win in their RPG arsenal. Again.
Conclusion? This is another case of EA taking the scenic route to profit – through a swamp, blindfolded, carrying an armful of lead bricks, while the competition builds a straight bridge made of gold. The missed opportunity for a Dragon Age remaster isn’t just about the games themselves – it’s about keeping the franchise alive in the cultural conversation and showing fans that you actually remember why they fell in love with the series in the first place.
Overall impression? Bad. Disastrously so. It’s not just a missed marketing trick; it’s a strategic self-own of epic proportions. You’d almost think they’re trying to speedrun the “how to make your IP irrelevant” category.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
