Dragon Age reportedly embracing multiplayer gaming, with playable dragons

By Adam Rosenberg Published November 30, 2011

EA

Mass Effect 3 is doing it, so why not Dragon Age? BioWare releases the trilogy-capping next entry in its sci-fi RPG Mass Effect series in March, and for the first time the series will feature an online multiplayer component in the form of a co-op-driven wave-based survival mode. Now there’s word that one of the developer’s forthcoming Dragon Age will follow the example set by ME3, that is if an unnamed Electronic Arts insider speaking to Kotaku is to be believed.

The alleged new multiplayer mode is described as “an arena-based affair and features player versus environment (PvE) elements as well as player versus player (PvP), as well as humans fighting dragons.” It’s not clear if this will be a component of Dragon Age 3 or a standalone product, though BioWare’s attitude toward the multiplayer in ME3 serving to enhance the single-player experience certainly suggests that an online component in Dragon Age will follow a similar path.

The source also mentions that this mysterious Dragon Age multiplayer game is being built on the Frostbite 2 engine, the one that DICE created and used to power Battlefield 3.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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Dragon Age: Dreadwolf teaser reintroduces the world of Thedas

Art for a Dragon Age: Dreadwolf short story released for Dragon Age day.

It's Dragon Age Day, and BioWare celebrated by releasing a new teaser trailer for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Titled "Thedas Calls", this trailer gives us our first in-engine look at some places players will visit in the game. We also learned when we can expect to learn more about this title.

Thedas Calls - Dragon Age Day (2023)

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You can’t play Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox, but you can play these 6 Game Pass RPGs

A player conversation in Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3 just launched on PC on August 3 and comes to PlayStation 5 shortly on September 6. Unfortunately, an Xbox Series X/S version of the RPG does not have any concrete release date. Developer Larian Studios explained in a community post that this is because it doesn't "want to compromise on quality and feel it would be a shame to downscale to 30 [frames per second, aka fps] or make other compromises to hit an arbitrary date." Still, it's disappointing that Xbox players can't get in on the fun anytime soon. Thankfully, there isn't a shortage of alternatives on Microsoft's gaming platforms.
Xbox Game Pass is home to dozens of RPGs, many of which share the same computer-RPG roots as Baldur's Gate 3. While Xbox players might not be able to enjoy Larian Studios' shockingly thorough and immensely enjoyable Dungeons & Dragons CRPG just yet, they can't go wrong playing these six titles right now.
Fallout: New Vegas

Where Baldur's Gate 3 may be the pinnacle of fantasy RPG games inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, Fallout: New Vegas is that for postapocalyptic RPGs. This game from Obsidian Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks -- both of which are now owned by Microsoft -- first released in 2010. Despite some in-game glitches that still persist, the Xbox 360 version of Fallout: New Vegas on Xbox Game Pass is just as enthralling of a role-playing experience as it was nearly 13 years ago. The Xbox 360 version can even be played at 60 fps on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, thanks to the FPS Boost feature.
Like Baldur's Gate 3, it's a faithful follow-up to some classic CRPGs that give players a massive amount of choice as they complete their adventure however they see fit. You can have endless fun exploring the world and creating experiences that feel personal to you while dealing with its eclectic cast of factions and characters. While it's a bit rough around the edges in certain aspects, New Vegas is still one of the best RPGs ever made. As such, it's worth replaying or trying first the first time if you want to play an RPG, but can't experience Baldur's Gate 3 right now.
Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire

Gaming

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf doesn’t seem to be coming out this year

Art for a Dragon Age: Dreadwolf short story released for Dragon Age day.

It seemed like the release of the long-awaited BioWare RPG Dragon Age: Dreadwolf could finally happen this year, but the latest financial report from EA suggests that the game won't be out before April 2024.
It has been about eight-and-a-half years since the last game in the series, Dragon Age: Inquisition, was released. This fourth entry in the Dragon Age franchise reportedly had a rocky development before the current, single-player version of the game really got off the ground after the release of Anthem. BioWare first teased this new Dragon Age at The Game Awards 2018 and gave it the subtitle Dreadwolf last June. Despite that, as well as leaks suggesting the gameplay was pretty far along, EA's latest financial results suggest it's not coming out very soon.

A slide in EA's Fiscal Year 2023 fourth-quarter financial results lists the games EA expects to release during fiscal year 2024, which runs from April 1 of this year until March 31, 2024. That list includes upcoming titles like Super Mega Baseball 4, F1 23, Immortals of Aveum, Madden 23, EA Sports FC, NHL 24, an unannounced EA Sports game, and an unannounced racing game, but no Dreadwolf.
Other EA games we know are in development, such as skate., Project Rene, EA Motive's Iron Man game, Respawn Entertainment's other Star Wars games, and the next Mass Effect, are all also excluded. Of course, there's the possibility that EA considers a 2023 release for Dreadwolf a secret, believes its release window is in question, or may have accidentally forgotten to include it, but if EA deliberately excluded it, that means Dreadwolf won't come out before March 31, 2024.
That is certainly disappointing for BioWare fans eagerly awaiting the developer to redeem itself after the disappointing launches of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem. Still, players will probably also appreciate it if BioWare takes as long as it needs to make Dragon Age: Dreadwolf the best it can be.