The Dread Wolf rises in the next installment of the Dragon Age franchise: Dragon Age 4.
Dragon Age 4 has been confirmed as in development and it’s safe to say that fans of the series are excited for their next trip to Thedas. Though it’s been in development for a few years now, at the moment Dragon Age 4 doesn’t actually have a release window and solid, official information on what we can expect from it is still fairly thin on the ground. Case in point—we’re calling the game Dragon Age 4, but a recent trailer appears to suggest that the series might defy its own (admittedly inconsistent) naming conventions with its fourth outing and simply go by the title Dragon Age. Regardless of whether the title includes a number 4, however, it looks like the game is going to be a direct sequel to 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition, bringing back familiar characters like Varric and Solas. As we come towards the end of 2021, we’re hoping BioWare might start to drop some more Dragon Age 4 details but a recent report has suggested it could be 2022 before the ball really starts rolling on that front. While we wait, why not keep scrolling and enjoy all the confirmed news and intriguing rumors we have for Dragon Age 4 so far. Despite the fact that the game’s development had long been a very open secret, Dragon Age 4 was only officially announced by BioWare a couple of years ago. Since then, BioWare has kept its cards pretty close to its chest and neither a release date nor a release window has been confirmed. «Hey everyone, we have been working on a new Dragon Age game for quite a while now and I am pleased to finally tease the existence of this project,» said Mark Darrah, executive producer on a BioWare blog post. «While we won’t be sharing any details for now, I can tell you we have been building a new team around a core of Dragon Age veterans, people I’ve worked with on Dragon Age, Jade Empire, and some of whom I’ve worked with since the Baldur’s Gate days. «I’m so excited to show you more!» EA’s 2019 earnings call (via Eurogamer) had a note about Dragon Age 4 that suggests we won’t see it released for a couple of years yet. During the call, the company’s CFO Blake Jorgensen said that the game «probably comes after fiscal ’22». This lines up with a 2021 report from GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb, who claims that multiple sources familiar with the project have said the game is on track for a 2023 release. Basically, it looks like Dragon Age 4, if that is its real name, won’t be with us for another couple of years. Given its release date seems to be some way off and a Gamescom 2020 clip made mentioned of «next-generation technology», it’s likely that Dragon Age 4 will be a release for PS5 and Xbox Series X as well as PC. The Game Awards 2020 brought hungry Dragon Age fans a brand new CGI trailer to enjoy. Though it still doesn’t reveal very much, it does feature the characters Varric and Solas as well as some extremely pretty locations that we will likely explore when we can finally become the new hero of Thedas. At Gamescom Opening Night Live, we got a behind-the-scenes video with the developers at BioWare who are keen to start talking about their plans for the fourth installment of the game. Take a look for yourself below: The Game Awards 2018 had plenty of reveals but one of the biggest was a teaser trailer for Dragon Age 4. At only a minute long, the trailer doesn’t give much away but the hashtag TheDreadWolfRises as well as the appearance of Inquisition’s Solas is enough to pique any fan’s interest. You can watch the teaser trailer below: Reportedly on track for a 2023 release Just as BioWare said, Dragon Age 4 didn’t make an appearance at EA Play Live 2021 with an official update but a recent report from GamesBeat could offer some explanation as to why. GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb claims that multiple sources familiar with the project have said the game is on track for a 2023 release, though EA is not willing to reveal a release window just yet and has declined to comment on the report. According to the report, EA held back from providing a Dragon Age 4 update at EA Play Live 2021, to enable it to “get the game into position to begin marketing in earnest”, likely in 2022. The report also corroborates Bloomberg’s report from earlier this year that BioWare has decided to drop plans for a Dragon Age 4 live-service model, instead opting to build the new Dragon Age as a single-player experience, like its predecessors. GamesBeat does, however, suggest that Dragon Age 4 could have an online multiplayer element, similar to Dragon Age: Inquisition. A 2023 release window would line up with previous comments from EA, such as a 2019 earnings call in which the company’s chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen stated that Dragon Age 4 “probably comes after fiscal ’22”, meaning the earliest we could see the new Dragon Age is April 2022 — when the next fiscal year begins. Antivan Crows Dragon Age fans have been living on crumbs of concept art and the latest features what appears to be the Antivan Crows. Dragon Age 4 executive producer, Christian Dailey, shared the new image on Twitter with an accompanying message that reads, “sorry for no EA Play news this year but please know that the team is heads down with a lot of momentum and making great progress. We are excited to share more when the time is right. Please stay safe and have a great weekend!” Based on the insignia in the corner of the image and the clothing of the characters, the art Dailey shared features the Antivan Crows, an organization of thieves, assassins and spies with a long, important and bloody history in Antiva and Thedas as a whole. Return of the Grey Wardens? Dragon Age fans have been treated to a hint that the Grey Wardens will make an appearance in the game. The tease came in the form of an image of the game, tweeted by executive producer Christian Dailey. New character concept art Brace yourself for another piece of Dragon Age 4 concept art. BioWare Austin Executive Producer, Christian Dailey, tweeted the art out in March 2021 with the message “Happy Friday my friends — I hope you are all staying out of the rain! Stay safe. Have a great weekend!!”. The image shows a mage standing in a rain-drenched alley, wielding a staff carved to look like a snake. Unfortunately Dailey didn’t provide any more context on the image but given the dearth of Dragon Age 4 information, it’s welcome. Single-player only? According to a report from Bloomberg, Dragon Age 4 is going to be an entirely single-player experience after a recent pivot in development. The report claims that Dragon Age 4 had been designed with a heavy multiplayer emphasis, but has transitioned to a single-player only game in recent months following “a recent multiplayer flop” – heavily implying that Anthem’s decline and failure partially caused the pivot in Dragon Age 4.
