Bioware is usually a developer that dabbles in a new story, then finishes it, and moves on. Sometimes, the story may extend over multiple games – such as Mass Effect or Baldur’s Gate – but it is a story with a definite beginning and ending, and once it has ended, they move on, full stop, no questions asked.
Which is why many people took it for granted that their high fantasy RPG series, Dragon Age, would eventually end too. But Bioware, it seems, has no plans to really stop. They seem to want to keep it going for as long as they can, which is something they confirmed in a recent interaction with Kotaku’s readers.
“We don’t have a sunset planned for the Dragon Age franchise at this time,” said Bioware’s Mark Darrah. However, Aaryn Flynn was quick to jump in and point out that that did not mean that they planned on endlessly milking it forever.
“Yeah I don’t know about “cranking out as long as they keep selling”. EVENTUALLY these things just get fatigued and need to rest until people are prepared to carry that torch again. By the same token, there’s a cycle to entertainment – if you’d told me 10 years ago that there would be a healthy resurgence of isometric RPGs (Pillars of Eternity, more Baludur’s Gate, and more), I’d have said you were crazy! But here we are, and I’m glad I was wrong.”
So that’s where things stand right now- Dragon Age’s ultimate fate rests entirely on market demands and conditions. That is of course true of any product, but the flip side is that there is no narrative cap or ceiling on Dragon Age, unlike other Bioware games. It can go on for as long as Bioware wants it too.
