Dragon Age Trilogy Remaster Rejected by EA, Says Bioware

Electronic Arts has turned down multiple pitches from Bioware to remaster or remake the original Dragon Age trilogy, according to former series executive producer Mark Darrah. Speaking in a recent interview about the idea, Darrah explained that Bioware explored several possibilities, from a polished "Legendary Edition" release to a full-scale remake of Dragon Age: Origins. Despite the commercial success of similar projects like the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, EA reportedly had no interest in funding the effort. "EA has historically been… kind of against remasters," Darrah said. "It's strange for a publicly traded company to basically be against free money."

One major roadblock is the technical disparity between the trilogy’s games. While the Mass Effect titles shared a common Unreal Engine base, the Dragon Age series was built on three different and now outdated engines: Dragon Age: Origins on Eclipse, Dragon Age II on the Lycium engine, and Dragon Age 3: Inquisition on Frostbite. Updating all three for modern platforms would require a far more complex and expensive development process than many fans might expect.

Bioware suggested workarounds, such as using Frostbite tools for unification or partnering with experienced modding teams for support. However, EA's reported response was that the studio could proceed only if it used its existing budget, a constraint Darrah said made the project unfeasible given other commitments, including the next Mass Effect.

Is Dragon Age: The Veilguard responsible?

For fans, the decision means that a modernized return to Thedas remains out of reach for now. Many have expressed frustration online, arguing that a remaster could serve as both a commercial success and a way to reignite excitement ahead of future Dragon Age releases. This also should be EA's best interest if the publisher wants to keep the franchise alive, especially after the poor results achieved by Dragon Age: The Veilguard. In any case, the huge popularity of the first three games in the series should be enough to guarantee that the remaster wouldn't be a commercial failure, but without EA’s support, it remains only a concept.

In the end, the fate of a Dragon Age trilogy remaster rests on whether EA reconsiders its stance on revisiting older titles. Until then, players will have to rely on the originals, and their mods, to relive the saga. Of course, if you have not visited the world of Thedas yet, you can find the best deals to purchase all the Dragon Age games with our comparator.