CEO of EA points to lack of Live Service as reason for failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard

The future of BioWare is increasingly uncertain, and the underperformance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard may be one of the main reasons. During a conference on the third quarter of the fiscal year 2025, the CEO of Electronic Arts, Andrew Wilson, revealed his disappointment with the game's numbers and suggested that the lack of live service elements may have been a strategic mistake.

Launched in the third quarter of 2025, Dragon Age: The Veilguard attracted around 1.5 million players. However, this number was 50% below EA's internal expectations, a result that directly affected the company's financial performance.

Wilson emphasized that the gaming industry has evolved and that players are increasingly seeking “shared world features” and “deeper engagement”, in addition to a compelling narrative.

"Dragon Age had a high-quality launch and was well-received by critics and players; however, the game was not supported by a sufficiently broad audience in this highly competitive market", stated the CEO.

The most controversial point of Andrew Wilson's statement was the suggestion that The Veilguard could have been more successful if it had live service mechanics. According to him, a large part of EA's profits come from this business model, with games like FIFA Ultimate Team, Apex Legends, and The Sims 4 leading the company's revenues.

The statement generated controversies among fans of the franchise, as Dragon Age has always been a single-player focused series, and many players feared that EA would try to turn the experience into something similar to an MMORPG or service game.

After the weak commercial performance, BioWare confirmed that they do not intend to provide ongoing support for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, closing any possibility of future expansions or post-launch content.

Furthermore, the shares of Electronic Arts suffered a significant drop after the game's release, indicating that the market did not react well to the company's performance in the period.

Looking to the future, BioWare now focuses its efforts on the next Mass Effect, while EA continues to bet on live service titles. Is the era of classic single-player RPGs coming to an end within EA?