Dragon Age: The Veilguard Director Leaves BioWare

Corinne Busche, the game director behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard, is reportedly set to leave EA-owned BioWare in the coming weeks. Eurogamer broke the news, noting that Busche led the project from February 2022 until its launch in October last year. IGN has reached out to EA for further comment on this development.

Since its release, Dragon Age: The Veilguard has faced scrutiny regarding its success. Despite these concerns, Eurogamer emphasized that Busche's departure will not lead to other significant changes within the studio. Busche joined BioWare in 2019 following her tenure at Maxis, where she contributed to The Sims projects. Her role as director was instrumental in navigating Dragon Age: The Veilguard through its final development stages, as highlighted in IGN's article, 'How BioWare Finally Got Dragon Age to the Finish Line After a Tumultuous Decade.' This piece detailed the game's challenging development journey, which saw a significant shift from a multiplayer framework to a single-player RPG.

Eurogamer clarified that Busche's exit is not linked to the commercial performance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. EA has not yet disclosed whether the game's sales met their expectations, but the company is set to announce its Q3 2025 financial results on February 4.

In other news, BioWare has confirmed that there will be no DLC for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Instead, the studio is now focusing on Mass Effect 5, which has been teased but not fully revealed to the public.

The past year has been tumultuous for BioWare. In August 2023, coinciding with the release of Baldur's Gate 3 by Larian Studios, BioWare laid off around 50 employees, including long-time staff member Mary Kirby, a narrative designer who had been with the company since the inception of Dragon Age. These layoffs were part of a broader restructuring at EA, which divided the company into sports and non-sports divisions. Rumors also circulated within BioWare about a potential acquisition, and Star Wars: The Old Republic was transitioned to a third-party to allow BioWare to concentrate on Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard's journey to release was marked by ups and downs. The initial reveal in 2024 drew negative reactions, prompting BioWare to quickly release an early gameplay teaser to reassure fans. The name change from Dreadwolf to The Veilguard also received mixed feedback. However, subsequent impressions of the game were generally positive.

With Busche's departure and BioWare's shift in focus, Dragon Age fans are now left pondering whether the studio will have the opportunity to develop another sequel in the beloved franchise.