Director Of Dragon Age The Veilguard Has Left EA & BioWare
Not long after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, game director Corrine Busche is leaving her position at BioWare to work on a currently unknown project. Released on October 31, 2024, Veilguard is the latest installment in the Dragon Age franchise, and despite garnering a largely positive critical reception, the game has proven controversial among fans of the series for the quality of its writing, its turn to action-based combat, and some contradictions to previous Dragon Age games.
As reported by Jeff Grubb on X, and confirmed by Eurogamer, Dragon Age: The Veilguard's game director, Corrine Busche, is leaving BioWare and EA only a few months after the game's release, citing "an opportunity I couldn't turn down" to Eurogamer as the reason for her departure. Aside from another comment saying the project will be "in the CRPG space", Busche has otherwise not commented further on her future work, and, according to Eurogamer, BioWare is "otherwise unaffected", and the studio shifts focus towards Mass Effect 4.
Director Corrine Busche Is Leaving EA & BioWare After Nearly 20 Years
Busche, A Longtime EA Employee, Is Leaving The Company Shortly After Veilguard's Release
While Busche's status as Veilguard's game director at BioWare has only lasted since 2022, when she was brought onto the project after years of troubled development, she does have a much longer history working under EA for around 18 years, working on various Sims games. According to Eurogamer, Veilguard's success, or lack thereof, "was not a direct factor" in Busche's departure, but a longstanding employee with a relatively important and visible position leaving after the completion of a large project will raise some eyebrows regardless.
It should be noted that Busche's position as "game director" for Veilguard does not imply that she had an especially heavy hand in the game from a creative standpoint, as that would presumably have fallen to the game's creative director, John Epler. Veilguard was especially noticeable before its release for going through an especially troubled development - the game was in development for almost a decade, at one point pivoting towards releasing as a live service before pivoting back to single-player, and its title was changed from Dreadwolf to The Veilguard.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Had A High Bar Set Thanks To Cyberpunk
Other Recent RPGs Set A High Bar That Veilguard Couldn't Reach
Despite positive critical reviews at launch, Veilguard has garnered a heavily mixed reception from players, drawing backlash for aspects of its writing and gameplay - which hasn't been helped by comparison to other standout RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, or by the 10-year wait since the release of Inquisition. And while Veilguard has seemingly seen a decent amount of success, it also seems like it's far from being a breakout hit like EA or BioWare might have wanted, or needed, it to be.
Busche's departure from BioWare isn't likely to mean much regarding Mass Effect 4, which presumably has its own game director, or for the prospective next Dragon Age game, and it's uncertain how much it even has to do with Veilguard, but a long-tenured employee in a major role leaving a company is notable news nonetheless. After Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it's uncertain where the series might go next, but at least one of the major figures involved in releasing the game won't be involved.
Sources: @JeffGrubb/X, Eurogamer
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
OpenCritic Reviews- Released
- October 31, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- BioWare
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Frostbite
- Franchise
- Dragon Age
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
Your comment has not been saved