On Dragon Age: The Veilguardrivers and rivers of words have been written. There are those who defend it vigorously, those who reject it from every point of view and those who, while recognizing some of its merits, point the finger at the most obvious defects, in particular with regards to the writing of dialogues and characters. A divisive game as we haven’t seen one for a long time and all the noise that continues to surround it raises a question, fundamental to evaluating its success: how many copies has it sold?
In an interview with Eurogamerthe director Corinne Busche has refused to reveal official data, despite increasingly widespread rumors of the game’s lack of commercial success and the fact that this reticence will surely lead to increased suspicions that Veilguard has not achieved the desired results. According to several sources, to be taken with a pinch of salt given the lack of information coming from Bioware or EA, the fourth chapter of Dragon Age it would have barely sold a million of copies between PC and console, with 30 thousand returns. A disastrous result, reflecting the game’s multiple shortcomings and negative user ratings.
Busche tried to tone down the criticism, saying that too Dragon Age: Inqusition it took time to reach current overall sales numbers. In defense of Veilguard series creative director John Epler also took sides, according to which the studio could never have surpassed it fans’ expectationswho have been waiting for a new chapter in the saga dark fantasy for ten years. “Whatever we made, it would never match the Dragon Age 4 that existed in people’s imaginations,” he said.
It is undeniable that fans of the series expected a product capable of at least equaling the previous chapters and that in any case a more or less substantial portion of users would have been disappointed. This, however, does not take away the fact that Veilguard was disappointing from many points of view: technical problems in gameplay, a less engaging narrative, flat characters and “specks,” whose relationships completely lack conflict and are decorated with a hint of toxic positivity. Not to mention, then, the controversial approach to the lore of the series and the forced introduction of woke themes, which in addition to making them turn up their noses, were also treated within the game in a rather gruesome way.
For now, all we can do is wait and see Veilguard will be able to catch up. However, one cannot help but wonder about the future of Bioware.
After the flops of Mass Effect: Andromeda And Anthemthe new Dragon Age should have revived the studio and brought it back to the Olympus of RPG creators, a peak now firmly held by Larian Studios. More than a rebirth, it seems that Veilguard is the final nail in the coffin of a brand which, given the collapse of the last ten years, may not have a very long future yet.