Last year, Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 took gamers by storm on its way to winning several game of the year awards. Fans loved it so much that they were openly hoping that the next installment in the Dragon Age series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, would incorporate some aspects of Baldur’s Gate 3’s gameplay. That’s why one of Dragon Age’s co-creators, David Gaider, explained why that’s not feasible.
Via GamesRadar, Gaider responded to a question on X before noting that AAA development cycles take around five years or more. For that reason alone, The Veilguard was too far along for any sweeping changes to make it more like Baldur’s Gate 3. Gaider also shared his belief that Baldur’s Gate 3’s influence won’t be felt for years.
Yeah, considering that the dev cycle of a triple-A game is upwards of 5 years or more (and pivoting mid-way isn’t really a thing), you’re not going to see any direct influence from BG3 for a few more years yet.
— David Gaider (@davidgaider) June 13, 2024
While Baldur’s Gate 3 placed a large emphasis on giving players the freedom to make their own choices in the story, BioWare recently revealed that The Veilguard will be a mission-based linear game instead of featuring an open world. According to The Veilguard director Corinne Busche, this choice was made to “get the best narrative experience, the best moment-to-moment experience.”
Regardless, there’s a mutual admiration between the team at Larian Studios and BioWare’s Dragon Age team. Larian Director of Publishing, Michael Douse, confirmed that with a post on X.
I’m excited for more Dragon Age and I’m glad our own audience have new fantasy characters to look forward to while we’re cooking away. The gameplay trailer looked cool!
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) June 11, 2024
BioWare responded with a post of its own and shared the same sentiment.
Thanks for the kind words, we’re huge fans of your work too 🫶
— BioWare (@bioware) June 13, 2024
Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
