Dragon Age 4 creative director, Matthew Goldman, has parted ways with BioWare after more than 20 years at the famed development studio.
Goldman originally joined BioWare in 1998 and has worked on popular series such as Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon Age.
After leaving the company to help create Halo Wars at Age of Empires developer, Ensemble Studios, he returned to EA’s RPG making machine to help helm Dragon Age 4.
BioWare has yet to confirm who will be replacing Goldman, though it’s clear his departure will have an impact on the team. EA issued the following email to its employees regarding the subject (via Kotaku):
Hi everyone,
I hope you are well. I’m writing to inform you all that Matt Goldman is leaving BioWare. We have mutually agreed to part ways, and his last day is today.
We understand that Matt’s departure has an impact on you, as well as the game’s development. Rest assured our commitment to a high-quality Dragon Age game has not waivered, and we will not ship a game that is not up to BioWare’s standards.
We, including EA’s executive team, have absolute confidence in the leadership here at the studio and the people working on this game to carry forward our vision.
We’ve heard very little about Dragon Age 4 since it was first properly revealed during The Game Awards in 2020. Featuring familiar heroes (and an unmistakable villain) the sequel will be a direct follow-up to 2014’s Dragon Age Inquisition which left the series on a quite a major cliff-hanger.
The reveal trailer doesn’t give much away, giving us some pleasant cinematics of bow wielding warriors, and fighting against dragons, demons and dark spawn against some suitably fantastical backdrops, including our old favourite, the lava filled cavern. We do see the return of Elven mage Solas which should please Dragon Age fans, while the voiceover tells us that “It’s time for a new hero, no ancient hand, no legacy” so perhaps we’re going to have a new unnamed, ordinary central character who’s swept up in all sorts of shenanigans.
Dragon Age 4 has a new hero, but what does this mean for The Inquisitor?
In terms of a speculative release date for Dragon Age 4, we’d guess that it’s at least another couple of years out from launch. We’ve seen and heard so little about the project, though hopefully this is due to BioWare keeping a lid on leaks as opposed to the sequel being caught in limbo. Earlier this year it was reported that the fantasy RPG was meant to have some form of multiplayer which has now been scrapped and that BioWare plans to ditch the PS4 and Xbox One for a true next-gen Dragon Age.
With this year’s Game Awards show looming, we’ll hopefully get another glimpse.
Source: Kotaku
