Corinne Busche, the director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, is set to leave BioWare, the EA-owned studio, in the coming weeks, according to Eurogamer. Busche, who took the helm as game director in February 2022 and led the project to its launch in October last year, joined BioWare in 2019 after working at Maxis on various The Sims projects. Her departure comes at a time when the success of Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been under scrutiny, though Eurogamer reports that her exit is unrelated to the game's commercial performance. EA has yet to comment on the sales and revenue figures for The Veilguard, with the company set to release its Q3 2025 financial results on February 4.
Despite Busche's departure, BioWare remains focused on its future projects. The studio has confirmed that there are no plans for Dragon Age: The Veilguard DLC, shifting its attention instead to Mass Effect 5, which has been teased but not yet fully revealed. This transition comes after a challenging period for BioWare, including layoffs in August 2023 that affected around 50 employees, including veteran narrative designer Mary Kirby. These layoffs were part of a broader internal restructuring at EA, which saw the company divided into sports and other divisions, amidst rumors of potential acquisition and the decision to allow Star Wars: The Old Republic to go third-party.
The development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard itself was a tumultuous journey, spanning nearly a decade and involving a significant pivot from a multiplayer framework to a full single-player RPG. Busche played a crucial role in steering the project to completion in its final years. The game's reveal in 2024, initially titled Dreadwolf before being renamed to The Veilguard, faced mixed reactions. The initial reveal trailer was poorly received, prompting BioWare to quickly release an early gameplay tease to reassure fans. Despite the rocky start, subsequent impressions of the game were generally positive.
As BioWare moves forward, the future of the Dragon Age series remains uncertain. Fans are left wondering whether the studio will have the opportunity to develop another sequel following The Veilguard.
