“We’ve got 50+ years left,” saysDragon Agecreative director Mike Laidlawhalf-jokingly about the future of the franchise. Laidaw responded to several questions posed by fans on Twitter regarding plans forDragon Age, stemming from one inquiry about a potential ending to the series. No reveals were forthcoming from Laidlaw about currentDragon Ageplans or titles in production, but he did confirm that the franchise was nowhere near its conclusion.
While aDragon Agegame may or may not be currently in development, Laidlaw did go so far as to say that BioWare made a habit of always planning two games into the future with the franchise:
“Thus, I could tell you what -could- be in a theoretical game 5, if there were a theoretical game 4 happening.”
He goes on to amend that by saying a, “rigid plan that is a decade old by the time you reach the end,” is no way to make games either. That’s perhaps in reference to BioWare Edmonton’s current focus onAnthemand its 10-year plan. Or it could just be a generalist statement about how the best laid plans can go awry.
Mike Laidlaw is a BioWare veteran, nearing 15 years with the company come 2018. He started as lead writer onJade Empireand jumped into theDragon Agefranchise at the very beginning as lead designer.
He took over full creative direction withDragon Age: Inquisitionand fans have been anxiously awaiting news about what he’s working on next. His Twitter profile and LinkedIn account still list him asDragon Agecreative director, so it’s assumed he’s working on the next entry in that franchise.
BioWare Edmonton has managed to work on multiple games at the same time before, notably the one-two combo ofDragon Age: OriginsandMass Effect 2in 2009 and 2010, respectively. WhileAnthem’s scope could very well be larger and more demanding than Edmonton’s previous projects, there could be another teamworking on aDragon Agegamein the basement.
And this isn’t the first time Laidlaw has hinted at it either, saying in June that, “Something is happening with Dragon Age.” Considering how antsy Laidlaw is getting, it might not even be too far off.
Keep in mind thatAnthem’s release datewas originally planned for 2017, though it’s now slated for late 2018. Early 2018 for a newDragon Agegame would be a nice fit, wouldn’t it?
