Gab Hernandez 
Bioware has laid off approximately 50 people from the company, which has fans wondering about the future of games such as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 4.
Bioware announced that it is moving in a “more agile and more focused” direction. This resulted in 50 people being laid off despite multiple games being in development. The company says this will let the studio “iterate quickly, unlock more creativity, and form a clear vision” of the upcoming games as development advances. Bioware states that the process was handled with “empathy, respect, and clear communication.”
Cutting staff in order to work more quickly and be more creative is paradoxical, but the studio outlined how this will impact its works in progress. Here’s what is happening with Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 4 after the Bioware layoffs.
Is Dragon Age: Dreadwolf delayed?
There is no official release date for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, and it does not yet seem to be delayed. Bioware claims that it remains committed to the game and expressed that the game will live up to both internal and fan expectations.
The Edmonton-based developer emphasized the importance of the game’s development in its announcement. The game’s development began in 2015 and has seemingly remained in limbo for some time since, which the company acknowledged. It has been a decade since the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and during that time, development has been restarted multiple times.
High turnover of leading staff has dogged Bioware since then. Mike Laidlaw, who was the project’s first creative director when it was titled “Joplin,” left the company in 2017 in response to its initial cancellation. Since then, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has continuously bled talent and the result has been almost complete silence regarding the game.
Is Mass Effect 4 canceled?
Mass Effect 4 is still in pre-production, it has not been canceled. The game may remain in pre-production for some time to come.
Mass Effect 4 was initially announced in December 2020 and other than a teaser trailer, there has been no major news regarding its development. Bioware states that Mike Gamble is leading a veteran team to continue pre-production work on the next chapter of Mass Effect. Mike Gamble has been a producer on the Mass Effect franchise since Mass Effect 2 and was lead producer on Bioware’s critically panned title Anthem.
Neither Mass Effect 4 nor Dragon Age: Dreadwolf have an official release date or estimated launch window. It is unlikely that fans will be playing either game any time soon. Fans anxiously awaiting a new Dragon Age may want to check out Baldur’s Gate 3 in the meantime.
