Sorry to say it, but it looks like we’re a few years out from the launch of Dragon Age 4. EA made the reveal in its Q2 2020 earnings call with its investors. The overall tone of the statements suggests that the company is still very much focused on other projects, and don’t really have a firm plan for Dragon Age 4. The company has previously said that it is still working through ideas on what the story and gameplay would be for the sequel, and it certainly has a lot of heritage to live up to.
There is a glimmer of hope for the future of the RPG franchise though. Iconic writer Casey Hudson teased that various EA studios, including the legendary BioWare, had several games in various states of work. Some secret projects were revealed to be in pre-production, and a lot of fans were hopeful that this meant a new entry in the grand fantasy franchise. Although it looks like the realization of those hopes is a long way off.
Chief operating officer and chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen had a fair bit to say on that particular subject:
“I mean you should assume that there is Dragon Age out there and we’ve talked about it publicly that it’s in the works, and it probably comes after fiscal ’22. But we typically don’t give multi-year guidance this early in the year or multi-year guidance period. So I don’t want to start giving ’23 guidance now that I’ve started to hit on ’22,” Jorgensen said during the earnings call. So in short, Dragon Age 4 won’t be around anytime soon.
After the launch of later entries in the Dragon Age franchise, particularly Dragon Age 2, some fans were disappointed with the quality of the games. So it makes sense that fans would want something more. It’s also perfectly reasonable that the publisher and developer that would handle the project want to give themselves some breathing room. After all, if EA or BioWare have to shift plans mid-development or push the game, it’s far easier to do that now than in the middle of production and risk another over-hyped disaster like Anthem.
And with EA focusing on 2020 with the launch of new AAA titles, as well as possible plan to remake other franchises in the cards, the company is already working with a full docket.