Just three months have passed since BioWare finally saw the long-awaited release of its new RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a launch that reportedly wasn't as successful as publisher EA initially hoped it would be – but series veteran David Gaider has some advice for the company.
Speaking in a recent thread online, the original lead writer and creator of the beloved Dragon Age setting begins by addressing EA's quarterly earnings call in which the publisher insisted that The Veilguard "did not resonate with a broad enough audience" to hit sales expectations.
Gaider explores the notion that the RPG would've performed better had it been a live service game, as executives "who don't don't actually know much about games" might think. "If I really dig into my empathy, I can kinda see the thinking here," he writes. "Like, let's say you don't actually know much about games.
You're in a big office with a bunch of other execs who also don't know much about games. What are they all saying? 'Live games do big numbers!
Action games are hot!' Your natural response? 'We should make more action games, and all our games should have live service!' Cha-ching, right?" Gaider continues: "Then some uppity devs spoil your buzz by saying 'that doesn't apply equally to all games' or 'we have an established IP with an audience that has certain expectations.' You frown.