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Former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah reveals EA and BioWare provided inadequate support during Dragon Age: The Veilguard's critical early development phase.

During a candid YouTube discussion, the veteran developer shared insights about 2017 - what he calls "the most transformative year in BioWare's history." His account covers pivotal decisions affecting Dragon Age: The Veilguard's formative stages and connects these events to Mass Effect: Andromeda's troubled final development period.

The timeline begins in late 2016 when Darrah was reassigned to assist with Andromeda's final development push. He recalls the Dragon Age team feeling "abandoned" with "minimal institutional support" during this transition period. While intended as a temporary measure to free up resources for Dragon Age after Andromeda's launch, this strategy ultimately proved ineffective.

"This marked the first instance of leadership fragmentation at BioWare," Darrah explained. "Having a project lead reassigned while development continues creates dangerous instability. While my Andromeda stint was brief, it established a problematic precedent for resource allocation that would haunt subsequent projects."

Following Andromeda's March 2017 launch - which Darrah bluntly describes as "unsuccessful" - BioWare struggled to adapt to new EA management taking unusually intense interest in development processes. According to Darrah, this leadership shift coincided with EA losing confidence in the Mass Effect franchise while still failing to properly support Dragon Age development.

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Darrah recounts escalating his concerns directly to EA executives Andrew Wilson and Patrick Söderlund, receiving verbal reassurances about Dragon Age's priority status. However, tangible support remained minimal until the unexpected announcement of Casey Hudson's return - a major organizational shift handled without consulting Darrah despite his senior position.

"As the second-highest ranking BioWare executive, being completely excluded from such a consequential hiring decision demonstrated profound disrespect," Darrah stated. "While my input likely wouldn't have changed the outcome, the process fundamentally damaged trust in leadership."

When Darrah predicted BioWare's looming pivot toward Anthem, EA leadership again promised continued support for Dragon Age - promises that ultimately proved empty as resources progressively shifted to the live-service project throughout 2018-2019. This redirection forced fundamental changes to what would become Dragon Age: The Veilguard's core design principles.

Despite critical acclaim (including our 9/10 review), EA later characterized The Veilguard's 2024 launch as commercially disappointing, citing limited audience reach. Former developers challenged this assessment, with some advocating for BioWare to adopt development models similar to Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 approach.

The studio's January restructuring saw numerous Dragon Age team members laid off as BioWare refocused on Mass Effect 5 development.