Dragon Age veteran says he got a prize from EA because Inquisition "saved the quarter," crushing all claims that the series was a financial flop

Dragon Age veteran Mark Darrah has crushed any claims that the series hasn't been a commercial success, suggesting that he even received a reward for saving EA's quarterly financial results.

In the runup to Dragon Age: The Veilguard, one peculiar narrative has been the suggestion that the series has always been a somewhat niche pick. It's a narrative that Mark Darrah, a BioWare veteran who was project developer on the first two Dragon Age games as well as executive producer on Dragon Age: Inquisition, says is simply wrong.

I literally got some chotsky (I don’t remember what) from a csuite member because DAI “saved the quarter” https://t.co/Efzm0DtvT9September 18, 2024

In a reply on Twitter, Darrah noted that "I'm not sure where 'DAI was a commercial failure' came from," pointing to its "over 12 million" sales that he says "massively oversold the internal EA projections." Just to add critical acclaim to that commercial success, Darrah notes that Inquisition also hoovered up several Game of the Year awards, despite launching in a highly competitive year.

So significant was that commercial success, in fact, that Darrah says he received a gift from an executive at Dragon Age: Inquisition publisher EA because the game "saved the quarter" for the company. And in case you were thinking, 'Well, maybe the other Dragon Age games didn't sell so well', that's probably not true either. Origins shifted 3 million copies in its first three months, and Dragon Age 2 matched that pace, selling 2 million in its first two months. With those figures for Inquisition in mind (and the success of Baldur's Gate 3, which has its roots planted firmly in BioWare soil), The Veilguard would appear to have a pretty steep mountain to climb to nestle in alongside its predecessors.

A Mass Effect-style Dragon Age collection is something The Veilguard's director would "love" to see, but it's still "TBD" for now.

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