Bioware are unlikely to remaster their original Dragon Age games due to engine issues

A Mass Effect-style Dragon Age remaster is unlikely, Bioware director claims

Dragon Age: The Veilguard launched last month, and the game has been fairly successful. It has a “Mostly Positive” review rating on Steam and the highest concurrent player record of any Bioware game at launch. While the game has been divisive online, it is clear that there is still a lot of love for the Dragon Age franchise. However, it looks like Bioware has no plans to remaster their original Dragon Age titles.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, John Epler, Bioware’s Creative Director, confirmed that Dragon Age does not have a Mass Effect Legendary Edition-style remaster in the works. While he would love for one to exist, Bioware doesn’t have the expertise to work with its abandoned Eclypse game engine. This engine was used to create the first two Dragon Age games.

I think I’m one of about maybe 20 people left at BioWare who’s actually used Eclipse,

It’s something that’s not going to be as easy Mass Effect, but we do love the original games. Never say never, I guess that’s what it comes down to.

– Bioware’s John Epler to Rolling Stone

Bioware’s Mass Effect trilogy was built using Unreal Engine 3, an engine commonly used for games of that era. This made remastering the trilogy a relatively easy process, as many game developers have experience with the engine. The same can’t be said for Dragon Age’s Eclipse engine. Currently, Bioware only has “maybe 20 people left” who used the engine. That makes remastering Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 a challenging process. Note that Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third Dragon Age game, uses EA’s Frostbite engine, the same engine as The Veilguard.

Don’t expect EA to remaster Dragon Age, but never say never

For Mass Effect, the situation was different. Mass Effect is more popular than Dragon Age, and the games were built using engines that developers have more experience with. Simply put, Mass Effect remasters were more likely to sell well and were much easier to create. For Dragon Age, things aren’t that simple. While remasters are still possible, creating them would be a challenge. That said, remasters of much older games have been created. Perhaps Bioware could hire an external developer that specialises in these kinds of remasters?

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