Former BioWare veteran Mark Darrah has revealed that Electronic Arts repeatedly refused studio pitches for a Dragon Age: Origins remake or remaster, despite multiple attempts to bring the beloved RPG forward to modern platforms.
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BioWare’s Champions Trilogy Proposal
In a recent interview with YouTuber MrMattyPlays, Darrah disclosed that BioWare pitched a comprehensive remaster package that would retroactively rebrand the first three Dragon Age games as the “Champions trilogy.”
| Proposed Trilogy | Character Focus | Game Engine Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon Age: Origins | Hero of Ferelden | Eclipse Engine |
| Dragon Age II | Champion of Kirkwall | Lycium Engine |
| Dragon Age: Inquisition | The Inquisitor | Frostbite Engine |
The concept would unite these larger-than-life heroes under one cohesive narrative umbrella, potentially including Dragon Age: The Veilguard in the collection.
EA’s Historical Resistance to Remasters
EA has historically been against remasters, with Darrah noting it’s “strange for a publicly traded company to basically be against free money, but they seem to be against it.”
Mass Effect Exception: The successful Mass Effect Legendary Edition was easier to develop because all three games used Unreal Engine technology, creating a unified development approach.
Dragon Age Complexity: Dragon Age is “unknowably harder” to remaster due to each game running on different proprietary engines – Eclipse, Lycium, and Frostbite respectively.
Multiple Remake Attempts
Darrah revealed various approaches BioWare considered:
Mod House Partnership: One early Joplin project proposal involved using Frostbite tools and partnering with talented mod houses to create a Dragon Age: Origins remake.
Technical Challenges: Unlike Mass Effect’s uniform engine structure, Dragon Age’s varied technical foundations across three different engines present significant development obstacles.
Fan Demand vs Corporate Reality
The revelation highlights a disconnect between fan expectations and EA’s business priorities. Dragon Age: Origins remains a beloved classic that launched the franchise, yet corporate reluctance continues blocking remake opportunities.
Current Status: Darrah admitted he doesn’t know what he’d want to do with a new Dragon Age pitch to EA right now, suggesting ongoing uncertainty about the franchise’s remaster potential.
Industry Impact
This situation reflects broader gaming industry challenges where technical complexity and corporate strategy often override fan demand for classic game remasters. While competitors successfully revive beloved franchises, EA’s approach remains conservative despite proven market appetite.
The Dragon Age community continues hoping for Origins accessibility improvements, but EA’s historical stance suggests fans may need to rely on community mods and backward compatibility for their classic RPG fix.
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The dream of a modern Dragon Age: Origins experience remains alive in fan hearts, if not in EA’s development pipeline.
FAQs
Why won’t EA approve a Dragon Age: Origins remake?
EA has historically opposed remasters and Dragon Age’s multiple engine technologies make it significantly harder than Mass Effect’s remaster.
What was BioWare’s Champions trilogy proposal for Dragon Age?
A remastered collection of the first three games rebranded around their heroic protagonists: Hero of Ferelden, Champion of Kirkwall, and the Inquisitor.
