One of the things that filled the ten year gap between Dragon Age: Inquisition and its recently released successor Dragon Age: The Veilguard was fans wondering aloud if BioWare would consider releasing a collection of the older games in the series, all nicely tweaked for modern hardware.
After all, the developer’s other big RPG series, Mass Effect, got this with its Legendary Edition – a package that gives folks the first three games and some extra goodies all in one package that comes with a good smattering of visual and quality-of-life improvements – back in 2021. It’s a nice way to make going black and playing the older games easier for folks, but it seems like creating such a collection for Dragon Age would be a tougher challenge than unleashing some remastered ‘We’ll bang, ok?’ on the world.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Veilguard creative director John Epler was asked about the possibility of the studio doing that Mass Effect-style collection for the older Dragon Age titles. While the developer did acknowledge this as something he’d love to see become a thing, he also explained that it’d face a hurdle that the ME collection didn’t, due to the different engines used by the first three entries.
Unlike the original Mass Effect trilogy, which was all made using Unreal Engine, Dragon Age: Origins was made using the Eclipse Engine, with Dragon Age II using an upgraded version of that, and then Inquisition making the switch to the Frostbite engine.
“I think I’m one of about maybe 20 people left at BioWare who’s actually used Eclipse,” Epler explained, adding: “It’s something that’s not going to be as easy Mass Effect, but we do love the original games. Never say never, I guess that’s what it comes down to.”
So, not a full-on no, but an indication that putting out such a collection might not be the no-brainer that the existence of Mass Effect’s Legendary Edition might make it seem like at first.
If you’re getting started with Veilguard and are in need of a bit of helpful guidance in terms of building your Veilguard character, make sure to consult our guides to the best starting classes. We’ve also got stuff to help you make tough choices and solve puzzles during you early adventures.