EA CEO suggests Dragon Age: The Veilguard underperformance was due to lack of “shared-world features”

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has advised in an investor-focused financial call that Dragon Age: The Veilguard, despite overall positive critical reception, did not meet the company’s projections. In particular, Wilson seems to pin the game’s sales underperformance on the lack of “shared-world features“, suggesting perhaps some regret at the game’s mid-development pivot away from live service.

As reported by PC Gamer, Wilson acknowledged in the call that Q3 did not meet EA’s expectations. “We know as a leader in global entertainment, great titles—even when built and delivered with polished execution—can sometimes miss our financial expectations,” he stated. “In order to break beyond the core audience, games need to directly connect to the evolving demands of players who increasingly seek shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives in this beloved category. Dragon Age had a high quality launch and was well-reviewed by critics and those who played; however, it did not resonate with a broad-enough audience in this highly competitive market.”

To an extent, it is understandable that Wilson would think that Dragon Age: The Veilguard would have been more of a money-spinner if it embraced more live service features. According to EA’s 8-K filing form, nearly 75% of the company’s earnings in 2024 were from “live services and other“. However, it’s also worth remembering why the live service multiplayer features were stripped from Dragon Age: The Veilguard in the first place. BioWare has already tried to make a game like that: it was called Anthem and it was a massive failure.

That’s not to say story-focused RPGs and multiplayer mechanics can’t work together; I and many others have had tremendous fun playing multiplayer campaigns in Baldur’s Gate 3. However, it’s hard to imagine how those sorts of features would have substantially improved Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s appeal. Other factors, such as the marketing, the decade-long gap since Dragon Age: Inquisition and substantial change in gameplay from previous releases, may have been bigger impacts on the game’s financial underperformance.

BioWare has unfortunately laid off a large number of employees as the studio pivots towards the next Mass Effect game. Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s underperformance and Wilson’s comments suggest that we may see more “shared-world features” in the upcoming Mass Effect title. We will have to wait and see when more information about the in-development title is finally released.