Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah is doubtful about the possibility of a remastered trilogy featuring the first three "Dragon Age" games, despite once envisioning a collection similar to "Mass Effect: Legendary Edition."
Darrah spent 23 years at BioWare and played a key role in the development of the "Dragon Age" franchise. He left the studio in 2020, while "Dragon Age: The Veilguard" was still in development.
'Dragon Age' Remastered Trilogy Was Once Envisioned
Darrah told FRVR in an interview that he discussed the possibility of remastering "Dragon Age: Origins," "Dragon Age 2," and "Dragon Age: Inquisition." He wants to bring them together in a single collection.
The idea would be similar to "Mass Effect: Legendary Edition," which launched in 2021 and combined the original "Mass Effect" trilogy with upgraded visuals, gameplay improvements, and other enhancements.
According to Darrah, he once had a similar concept in mind for BioWare's fantasy RPG series. He suggested the name "Champion's Edition," a collection that would unite the three "Dragon Age" games while highlighting the heroes and major figures featured throughout the trilogy.
"I think what you want is a Champion's Edition," Darrah said, describing his vision of transforming the three individual games into a cohesive trilogy released as one collection.
However, bringing that idea to life could be significantly more complicated than remastering the original "Mass Effect" games.
Different Dragon Age Engines Could Make a Remaster Difficult
One of the biggest obstacles is the technology behind each game.
The three "Mass Effect" games included in Legendary Edition were all built using Unreal Engine 3, giving developers a relatively consistent technical foundation when updating the trilogy.
The first three "Dragon Age" games, however, were created using different engines, according to VGC.
"Dragon Age: Origins" was developed using the Eclipse Engine, which was based on BioWare's Aurora technology. "Dragon Age 2" used the later Lycium Engine, while "Dragon Age: Inquisition" was built with EA's Frostbite engine.
In fact, the variety could make a "Dragon Age" remastered trilogy much more difficult to develop.
Darrah also pointed to the lack of developers with experience working on BioWare's older technology. According to him, there is now essentially no one at BioWare with a deep understanding of the Aurora Engine, while only a limited number of developers outside the studio may have the expertise required to work with it.
'Dragon Age' Remaster May Not Happen Soon
The technical challenges are only part of the problem.
A project of this scale could require EA and BioWare to assemble a dedicated team capable of working across multiple legacy engines.
Darrah suggested that EA's approach to staffing could make such an arrangement difficult, especially if the developers involved would need to operate under BioWare.
The timing also presents another major obstacle. BioWare is currently focused on the next "Mass Effect" game, which is expected to remain a major priority for the studio.
Darrah has previously indicated that another new "Dragon Age" game would be difficult to pursue under the current circumstances, with BioWare's resources already directed toward the next installment of the Mass Effect franchise.
That makes a remastered "Dragon Age" trilogy even less likely in the immediate future.
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