EA CEO Andrew Wilson attributes the financial underperformance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard to its failure to connect with a sufficiently broad audience. Last week's restructuring of BioWare, focusing solely on Mass Effect 5, saw personnel transfers from the Dragon Age team to other EA studios.

This followed EA's announcement of The Veilguard's disappointing sales figures, falling nearly 50% short of projections, despite engaging 1.5 million players. IGN previously documented The Veilguard's development challenges, including layoffs and the departure of key personnel. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, BioWare staff considered the game's completion a remarkable feat given EA's initial push for live-service elements, later reversed.

Wilson, in an investor call, suggested that future role-playing games require "shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives" to expand beyond the core fanbase. He praised The Veilguard's quality and reviews but acknowledged its insufficient market reach.

This statement is perplexing given EA's prior mandate for BioWare to completely overhaul Dragon Age, shifting from a planned multiplayer game to a single-player RPG. This contradicts Wilson's suggestion that added multiplayer features would have improved sales. The success of recent single-player RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 further fuels criticism that EA drew the wrong conclusions. The future of Dragon Age appears uncertain.

EA CFO Stuart Canfield linked BioWare's restructuring to the focus on Mass Effect 5, noting a significant reduction in staff. He highlighted the evolving gaming landscape and the strategic reallocation of resources to maximize potential.

It's crucial to remember that single-player games constitute a small fraction of EA's revenue. Live service games, including Ultimate Team, Apex Legends, The Sims, the upcoming Skate, and the next Battlefield, account for the majority (74% in the past year).