The decision largely came down to a sense of personal fulfillment. Busche mentioned that she took the role as game director on Dragon Age: The Veilguard because working on a single-player RPG was a choice too good to pass up for her.

“At the heart of it, this was about my own fulfillment,” said Busche. “I did what I set out to do at BioWare. That is to come in and help right the ship. I love Dragon Age, and BioWare, so the chance to return the game to a proper quality single-player RPG was the privilege of a lifetime.”

“It was hard fought, as games with such tumultuous dev cycles rarely end up shipping, and even more rarely turn out great. We, as a team, did it. And it was hard. It took a toll on me. BioWare still has a lot of work to do culturally, but I do believe they are on the right footing now.”

After leaving, Busche received an opportunity she “couldn’t turn down.” Specifics on her next project are unknown but it’s confirmed to be a character-focused CRPG.

“As for me, my departure was voluntary, as I have been presented with an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” said Busche. “I don’t want to say much more right now, but you can count on it being in the CRPG space and upholding the traditions of great characters.”

Busche’s departure from BioWare came after working at EA in some capacity for almost two decades. During her time, Busche has worked on a host of major titles, ranging from sports games like Tiger Woods Golf, to the ever-popular The Sims franchise.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S last year. While the game saw a generally positive critical response, criticisms emerged about its lighter tone and writing. For more details, check out our review. And for further details, here is why Dragon Age: The Veilguard has us worried about the next Mass Effect game.

“Corrine Busch, director of Dragon Age, is really leaving BioWare,” posted Grubb on social media platform X. “But I don’t think EA is closing BioWare Edmonton. Was told there is nothing solid about that part of the rumour.”

EA itself has been quiet and is yet to make an official announcement about Busche’s departure from BioWare.

Busche has been working with EA in some capacity since December 2006 and has since worked on several different games, ranging from The Sims and Dragon Age, to even the Tiger Woods titles.

In leaving the studio, Busche joins other Dragon Age: The Veilguard alumni, including writer Sylvia Feketukuty, who had written for various characters in the game, including Josephine and Emmrich.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard first hit store shelves back in November, being available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. On release, the game has seen a widely positive critical reception. However, it proved controversial with several players, with quite a few of them criticising the game’s lighter tone and writing.

It saw mixed reception in terms of sales, seeing smaller launch numbers than Dragon’s Dogma 2 in Europe. On Steam, however, the RPG surpassed 89,000 concurrent players.

For more details about Dragon Age: The Veilguard, check out our review. And here is why the title has gotten us concerned about the next Mass Effect game.

Corrine Busch, director of Dragon Age, really is leaving BioWare. But I don’t think EA is closing BioWare Edmonton. Was told there is nothing solid about that part of the rumor.

— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) January 17, 2025

After the announcement of Anthem lead producer Ben Irving’s departure, lead producer Fernando Melo announced that he’s also leaving BioWare. The latter is interesting because Melo was working on the next Dragon Age 4 codenamed “Morrison”. In a series of tweets, Melo said that the departure was his decision and that he was looking for “time to disconnect and explore a couple ideas for next chapter in my career”.

Melo also shared an email to BioWare Edmonton employees, stating that Morrison “well underway to becoming the definitive Dragon Age experience”. “I’m incredibly proud and honoured to have played a part in that. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the opportunity to experience the next Dragon Age as a fan this time around.”

Dragon Age 4 has been a point of discussion since its teaser trailer at The Game Awards 2018. This is especially after reports of Anthem’s troubled development – the original premise would see players commit heists in the Tevinter Imperium. Eventually, this game was cancelled and some time later the current Dragon Age 4, codenamed Morrison, went into development.

Reportedly built on Anthem’s codebase, Morrison will apparently feature a critical story path for solo players with additional multiplayer aspects. Time will tell how it ultimately shakes out but for now, we’ll have to wait for a final title and projected release window. Stay tuned until then.

(1/4) Today was my last day at BioWare. After 12 years.. that's a heck of a lot of feels. 🙂

Tonight I got to write my name up at our local pub, alongside many other amazing peers over the years, and it reminded me of a lot of folks no longer here that I miss dearly. pic.twitter.com/MFQELPM2jr

— Fernando Melo (@DiscoBabaloo) August 17, 2019

(2/4) There's really no easy way to sum up all the fantastic experiences and friendships across our studios, our partners, and in our community, that I've been so fortunate to have been a part of over these years.

— Fernando Melo (@DiscoBabaloo) August 17, 2019

(3/4) Here's my parting email to the studio since it also goes out to all of those I've had to pleasure to work with before, and helped to make it a fun and unforgettable ride, but couldn't get that email. pic.twitter.com/E1c4q2UafF

— Fernando Melo (@DiscoBabaloo) August 17, 2019

(4/4) To be clear, this is my own decision. I've been wanting to take some time to disconnect and explore a couple ideas for next chapter in my career.

So what's next … well, watch this space 🙂

— Fernando Melo (@DiscoBabaloo) August 17, 2019

Today, Kotaku’s Jason Schreier put together a report on BioWare’s upcoming Dragon Age sequel, tentatively titled Dragon Age 4 and codenamed Morrison. We already know about the previous iteration of the sequel, known as Joplin, but what’s coming with Morrison? Having spoken to various anonymous sources, Schreier noted that Matt Goldman, who was the art director for Dragon Age: Inquisition and Joplin, is now the creative director, while Mark Darrah is executive producer (while also staying on for Anthem).

The report also noted that for now, the game’s multiplayer is still undecided. Not only is the project very early in development, but the negative reaction to Anthem could have an effect on how it turns out. Interestingly, one rumour pegged Morrison as being “Anthem with dragons” (and not in a good way, it seems). That being said, several employees dismissed that notion. “The idea was that Anthem would be the online game and that Dragon Age and Mass Effect, while they may experiment with online portions, that’s not what defines them as franchises. I don’t think you’ll see us completely change those franchises,” noted one source.

It’s also not clear if Morrison will have an offline branch, even if it’s technically possible to do so. One individual said that the main story or critical path would be single-player focused and that the multiplayer will engage players long enough after launch. An interesting idea that’s apparently been discussed is to allow for companions that players could control via drop-in and drop-out co-op. Quests could also change based on the decisions made by all players.

That being said, a lot is still up in the air. Concerning the team working on Morrison, one current employee noted, “They have a lot of unanswered questions. Plus I know it’s going to change like five times in the next two years.”

How long will it be until Dragon Age 4 releases? Will it suffer the same problems as Anthem did during development? Or will BioWare stick with a coherent vision while catering to the live-service model? It’s too early to tell, so stay tuned in the coming months (and years) for more information.

Following a mammoth exposé on the troubled development of Anthem, Kotaku’s Jason Schreier has published another article on “The Past and Present of Dragon Age 4“. It talks about the original plans for the sequel, which was rebooted in October 2017, and how plans have changed significantly. We know about the departures of veteran developers like creative director Mike Laidlaw, but Dragon Age 4’s first incarnation, Joplin, was meant to be something very unlike Dragon Age: Inquisition.

The story was set in Tevinter Imperium in Thedas, a country known for being ruled by Wizards. Joplin was about choice and consequence, emphasizing fewer fetch quests and decidedly smaller scale areas. The focus was on areas that would change over time, and on missions branching out into different paths depending on one’s choices. Heists were a core focus, as were systemic narrative mechanics, like having to extort guards.

It was very early in development though. One former BioWare developer described working on Joplin as “some of the best work experiences” they ever had. “We were working towards something very cool, a hugely reactive game, smaller in scope than Dragon Age: Inquisition but much larger in player choice, followers, reactivity, and depth. I’m sad that game will never get made.” Then again, change seems to be a constant with the Dragon Age franchise.

What caused Joplin to ultimately be cancelled? It started with the development team moving over to assist with Mass Effect: Andromeda in late 2016. Though they would return to Joplin in March 2017 – with several members from Andromeda also part of development – they would have to assist with Anthem later in the same year. When it became apparent that Anthem wouldn’t meet its deadline, EA and BioWare cancelled Joplin and moved the majority of its staff over to the looter shooter. That explains how executive producer Mark Darrah ultimately became involved with the now-troubled online-focused title.

The entire story is worth a read, if only to hear about what could have been. Stay tuned for more information, especially concerning the current version of Dragon Age 4, which is in development at BioWare Edmonton.

According to Bioware Edmonton and Montreal general manager Aaryn Flynn on Twitter, Mass Effect 4 is currently in a playable state. Flynn stated that he had a “Great time playing the next Mass Effect game in Montreal. Ambitious. Beautiful. Fresh but recognizable. And fun.”

Mass Effect 4 is being developed on the Frostbite 3 engine, the same next-generation engine currently powering the majority of EA’s action titles including Battlefield 4, Star Wars: Battlefront, Mirror’s Edge and more. It will also be a fresh new take on the franchise, moving away from the initial trilogy that focused on Commander Shepard and his battle with the Reapers.

If the game is currently playable, how long before we get official word on the game, much less a reveal trailer? It may still be another year till anything resembling gameplay footage gets out but for now, development is progressing smoothly. Stay tuned for more news and details in the coming months.

Talking to Eurogamer, Lee said, “On gen four you’ll see far better graphics and, more importantly, a much more immersive world. It’s a lot richer, and there’s more depth to it. We can put more things on screen. There are more NPCs. There is more life to the world. That, while a subtle thing, really does over time build up into quite a strong connection to the game compared to the other gen three platforms.

As for the differences between the current and next-gen versions, Lee stated that, “The visual fidelity differences are huge. For example, the shaders you can put on the characters through different weather systems. The build up system we have, like when you walk through mud, the mud builds up on the leg, then if you’re in a fight, blood goes on top of the mud.

“One of our graphics programmers took a nug and overlayed all these different things on it. Eventually it looked like a nug that had been dipped in chocolate because there was so much stuff that was put on top of it. That’s all the power you can get from the gen four stuff. You’ll see that sort of a difference.

“The spell visual effects are incredible on the gen four and high-end PC. On gen three they will be much lower fidelity. Seeing Vivienne bringing up that big fire storm is brilliant on gen four and high-end PC. That’s the kind of stuff that will make this a gen four experience.”

Dragon Age: Inquisition will be out in late 2014 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Most of our core team that worked on SWKOTOR has been together throughout the Mass Effect series, and now our new IP project. #KOTOR10

— Casey Hudson (@CaseyDHudson) July 15, 2013

Bioware Edmonton senior producer Jonathan Warner also tweeted about the same, speaking about the first project review for the new IP. This would indicate that it’s been in the works for a while now.

A successful first project review for our new IP project today. Life is good!

— Jonathan Warner (@Bio_Warner) July 16, 2013

Is it likely that this will be a new title in the Star Wars universe, with an IP that is separate from the KOTOR brand? EA is currently signed to a multi-year deal with Disney under which its studios will develop Star Wars-based games using Frostbite 3. Along with DICE and Visceral Games, Bioware was also stated to be working on a project.

Mass Effect executive producer spoke at a PAX East panel, of which the topic was Mass Effect and said that they’ll be working on a “whole new fictional universe”. To make the contrast fully apparent, he said they would be “building something new”. So think of this as a project on the scale of the Mass Effect’s vision.

Hudson will be working with BioWare’s Preston Watamaniuk on this new game, but will still be working as executive producer on the next Mass Effect.

Recently, Hudson also spoke about Mass Effect 4, saying that it would “start something fresh and new; a new way for you to explore the whole universe in Mass Effect”.

The game is rumoured to be running on the Frostbite Engine, seen in EA DICE’s Battlefield 3 and used in the upcoming Battlefield 4.

Source: IGN

EA’s EA2D studio has been renamed as BioWare San Francisco now. The studio, responsible for titles such as Dragon Age Legends and Mirror’s Edge 2D is now part of BioWare, and these games will now be released under the BioWare banner.

Dragon Age Journeys and The Fancy Pants Adventures are also under the BioWare unbrella now.

After Edmonton, Montreal, Austin and BioWare Mythic (Virginia), this is the developer’s fifth studio.

EA clearly has big plans for BioWare, since yesterday, they announced BioWare was now one of EA’s only four publishing labels along with EA Sports, EA Games and EA Play.