Dragon Age series might find a promising future with remasters, according to ex-BioWare producer Mark Darrah, but it seems unlikely that EA and BioWare possess the capability for such undertakings at present.
In a recent interview, BioWare producer Mark Darrah discussed the history of attempted Dragon Age remasters and remakes. The idea of rebranding the first three Dragon Age games—Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Inquisition—as a trilogy called the "Champions Trilogy" was pitched by Darrah and his team.
The concept involved either remastering or fully remaking Dragon Age: Origins, potentially by partnering with an experienced external modding team to modernize the game using the Frostbite engine. However, EA rejected this idea, primarily due to several reasons.
One of the main reasons was EA's historical aversion to remasters, which Darrah found odd given the financial benefits such projects can provide. EA also insisted that any remastering project would have to be funded within BioWare’s existing budget, which was unrealistic given other ongoing projects at the studio.
The technical complexity of Dragon Age, which involves multiple different game engines and difficult older technology, made remastering far more challenging than a similar effort like the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. This complexity would require substantial internal staffing, which EA was reluctant to support because of the associated long-term costs.
The pitch never went beyond a soft, informal stage and did not reach an official or fully developed proposal.
Currently, there is no active Dragon Age remaster or remake project underway at EA or BioWare. Mark Darrah expressed skepticism about how the series could continue and indicated that a remaster would be the best hope for Dragon Age’s future, but he doubts that EA or BioWare currently have the will or resources to initiate such a project.
Dragon Age: Origins is still an excellent tactical RPG on PC, but its console versions had notably compromised controls. The effort required to fix the issues in Dragon Age 2 is unlikely to happen to the series. Darrah characterizes Dragon Age 1 and 2 remasters as "unknowably hard".
Despite the rejection of the remaster/remake idea, Darrah believes a remaster of the first three Dragon Age games is the best shot the series has at a future. He suggests that someone at BioWare or EA more broadly would need to pitch a new Dragon Age game for it to happen.
[1] Wccftech. (2020). Dragon Age Remaster/Remake Pitched By Mark Darrah, Rejected By EA. [online] Available at: https://wccftech.com/dragon-age-remaster-remake-pitched-by-mark-darrah-rejected-by-ea/
[2] GamesRadar+. (2020). Dragon Age Remaster Pitched By Mark Darrah, But EA Said No. [online] Available at: https://www.gamesradar.com/dragon-age-remaster-pitched-by-mark-darrah-but-ea-said-no/
[3] IGN. (2020). Dragon Age Remaster Pitched By Mark Darrah, But EA Said No. [online] Available at: https://www.ign.com/articles/dragon-age-remaster-pitched-by-mark-darrah-but-ea-said-no
[4] PC Gamer. (2020). Dragon Age Remaster Pitched By Mark Darrah, But EA Said No. [online] Available at: https://www.pcgamer.com/dragon-age-remaster-pitched-by-mark-darrah-but-ea-said-no/
[5] Eurogamer. (2020). Dragon Age Remaster Pitched By Mark Darrah, But EA Said No. [online] Available at: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-10-28-dragon-age-remaster-pitched-by-mark-darrah-but-ea-said-no
