Ex-BioWare Lead Slams EA Over Dragon Age: Veilguard Neglect

Mark Darrah, former executive producer of the Dragon Age series, claims EA and BioWare failed to adequately support his team during Dragon Age: The Veilguard's early development.

The ex-BioWare developer shared insights about his work on the iconic fantasy RPG franchise in a recent YouTube video. He discusses critical decisions in 2017 — what Darrah calls "BioWare's most pivotal year" — which impacted both the early stages of last year's Dragon Age and the final development phase of Mass Effect: Andromeda.

The timeline begins in late 2016 when Darrah was reassigned to oversee Andromeda's final development phase. He recalls the Dragon Age team feeling "abandoned" with "no support from BioWare or EA leadership." While intended to free up resources for Dragon Age after Andromeda's launch, this strategy ultimately proved ineffective.

"This created our first instance of leadership disruption," Darrah explained. "Having a project lead shift to another game mid-development sets a dangerous precedent. While Andromeda's impact on Dragon Age was minimal, it established an unwise practice of removing core leadership during critical phases."

Following Andromeda's problematic March 2017 launch, BioWare faced additional challenges adapting to EA's new hyper-involved management structure. Despite assurances, Darrah says Dragon Age continued receiving inadequate support even post-Andromeda's release.

The Best BioWare RPGs

Pick a winner

New duel1ST2ND3RDSee your ResultsFinish playing for your personal results or see the community’s!Continue playingSee results

When raising concerns with EA executives, Darrah received verbal commitments about Dragon Age's priority but saw little material support. The unexpected return of BioWare veteran Casey Hudson in mid-2017—decided without Darrah's input—marked another significant organizational shift.

"As BioWare's second-most senior leader, being completely excluded from this decision showed profound disrespect," Darrah noted. "My involvement wouldn't have changed the outcome, but bypassing leadership in such impactful decisions damages trust."

Subsequent assurances about supporting Dragon Age proved empty as resources increasingly shifted toward Anthem. Darrah describes his trust in EA being "systematically eroded" during this period, with constant resource reallocations forcing fundamental changes to The Veilguard's development through 2019.

Despite critical acclaim (including our 9/10 review), EA later deemed The Veilguard's 2024 launch commercially disappointing, stating it failed to "reach a wide enough audience." Former developers countered this assessment, with some advocating for Larian Studios' development approach exemplified by Baldur's Gate 3.

BioWare's January layoffs of Dragon Age staff coincided with refocusing efforts on Mass Effect 5's development.