Dragon Age: The Veilguard – everything we know so far
Dragon Age: The Veilguard, previously known as Dreadwolf, and casually as Dragon Age 4, is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) in the works at BioWare. It’s been nearly a decade since the last main-line entry in the series, Dragon Age: Inquisition was released, and fans have been clamoring for a new chapter ever since.
Fortunately, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is poised to bring us back to the beloved world of Thedas. Though we’ve not seen many details about the upcoming game yet, it’s clear from early teasers that the stakes are extremely high.
Though not without their blemishes, the Dragon Age games are among some of the best RPGs and best story games of the last two decades and serve as high bars for fantasy storytelling. According to a new blog post that reveals a title change for the game, we’ll hear more very soon indeed. In the meantime, however, we’ve pieced together every morsel of information we could find to help you learn everything you can about this upcoming RPG. Read on for more.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard: cut to the chase
- What is it? The fourth installment in influential Dragon Age series
- When’s it coming out? TBC (Xbox Series X, PS5, and PC are likely)
- When can I play it? TBC
- Who’s making it? RPG veteran BioWare
Dragon Age: The Veilguard – when will we hear more?
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is yet to receive a release date. However, thanks to a new blog post by BioWare, we know that a full reveal is set for June 11, 2024, at 8AM PT / 11AM ET / 4PM BST. You’ll be able to tune in via the game’s Youtube channel. So far, we know that the reveal will feature ‘over 15 minutes of gameplay from the opening moments of the game that has you jumping back into Thedas on your new adventure.’
Platforms haven’t been officially confirmed yet. Given a Gamescom 2020 clip made mention of “next-generation technology”, it’s possible that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will skip PS4 and Xbox One, coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC instead.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard trailers
A teaser trailer dropped on December 4, 2023, offering a look at the never-before-seen locales of Antiva, Rivain, and the Anderfels. Most importantly, however, this new trailer promised a “full reveal” in “summer 2024”.
In typical Dragon Age fashion, there are also some foreboding voice clips. “All the world will soon share the peace and comfort of my reign,” says one mysterious speaker. You can see the trailer for yourself, below.
The two other Dragon Age: The Veilguard trailers can be found on the official Dragon Age YouTube channel. These include the teaser trailer from the 2018 Game Awards as well as the second teaser featured during the 2020 Game Awards. There was also an in-game cinematic trailer released on December 4, 2022, which can’t be found on the official channel but is available here.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard story and setting
BioWare hasn’t confirmed the exact storyline for Dragon Age: The Veilguard just yet, but the former title (Dragon Age: Dreadwolf) and the game’s trailers make one thing clear: Solas is going to be involved in a big way. This time, it looks as though he’ll be the main antagonist. We put together a guide on exactly who Solas is for those keen on digging into the details. Suffice it to say, he’s a murky character who made a strong impression in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
BioWare’s description of him paints an interesting picture. “Solas, the Dread Wolf. Some say he might be an ancient elven god, but some say not. Others say a betrayer of his people…or a savior who now seeks to rescue them at the cost of your world. His motives are inscrutable and his methods sometimes questionable, earning him a reputation as something of a trickster deity – a player of dark and dangerous games.”
The return of Solas as well as characters like Varric, the witty Dwarven bard from Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition, certainly suggests that Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s story will pick up not too long after Dragon Age: Inquisition. However, like all the previous games in the series, it looks like players will step into a brand new protagonist’s shoes, with the official website stating: “Thedas needs a new hero; one they’ll never see coming.”
It’s heavily implied by the December 2023 teaser that the Anderfels, Rivain, and Antiva will be featured in The Veilguard. The inclusion of these yet-unexplored locations is a real treat for fans, who, until now, have only had these places hinted at in previous titles. The Anderfels certainly raised my eyebrows, given the fact that Weisshaupt, the home fortress of the heroic Grey Wardens, is located there. Perhaps this hints at a move toward a more Grey Warden-centric plot like the original 2009 Dragon Age: Origins, which heavily focused on the morally ambiguous order of monster fighters.
New heroes and fresh starts make sequels accessible and we also know that playing Dragon Age: Inquisition isn’t going to be a prerequisite for getting stuck into Dragon Age: The Veilguard. BioWare has confirmed that “if you’re new to Dragon Age, you have no need to worry about not having met our antagonist just yet. He’ll properly introduce himself when the time is right”.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard characters
While we don’t know much about new or returning characters in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it seems clear that Solas, also known as the Dread Wolf, and Varric the storyteller will be making returns in some form.
Fans of Dragon Age: Inquisition will remember Solas the elven mage as a party member who joins your team early on in support of your efforts to prevent the emergence of dangerous magical rifts caused by the evil mage Corypheus. However, it turns out that Solas was the elven Dread Wolf the whole time and was playing the long game, looking for a way to break the veil between magic and reality on his own terms, not Corypheus’.
Whether or not we’ll be able to side with Solas during Dragon Age: The Veilguard remains to be seen, but it’ll be exciting to see this mysterious character brought to light in Bioware’s upcoming RPG.
Fans will also notice the voice of Varric the dwarf narrating The Veilguard‘s 2020 Game Awards teaser trailer. While this doesn’t necessarily confirm the return of the lovable rogue as a playable party member, it does suggest that he’ll have something to do with The Veilguard‘s story. That said, the fact that he was a companion both in Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition suggests that a return to the player party could very much be on the cards for Varric.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard gameplay – what can we expect?
Not much is yet known about what we can expect from Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s game mechanics. However, a BioWare community update back in February 2023 gave us an indication as to what we can expect from character progression and customization.
The post outlines plans for a non-linear skill tree, allowing players to customize their character class. Luke Barrett, a systems design director on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, outlined a complex skill tree full of “many unique nodes”, all of which “grow the character in multiple ways, not just stats.”
Elaborating further, Barrett stated: “We really wanted to have something that allowed the player to character-build in a way that allowed them to reach their “player fantasy.” And because we’re supporting so many choices, we’ve designed something that can be customized widely, as opposed to a more linear progression system.”
Though we don’t have much by way of specifics, this approach contrasts with the more linear offerings of previous Dragon Age titles, where players were forced to specialize in specific classes or subclasses. It could be a pleasant breath of fresh air for the series going forward.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard news
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is now Dragon Age: The Veilguard
BioWare has revealed that the new name for the next mainline Dragon Age game is now Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This was announced via a blog post, that also reveals a 15-minute gameplay reveal for June 11, 2024.
A Dragon Age: Dreadwolf ‘full reveal’ is coming this Summer
On December 4, 2023, BioWare released a new teaser trailer for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf giving us glimpses of several tantalizing new locations. We also got a few cryptic voice lines and a commitment to a “full reveal” of Dreadwolf in “summer 2024”.
13 unionized Dragon Age: Dreadwolf QA testers laid off
As reported in October 2023, 13 quality assurance (QA) testers were laid off at Bioware. The employees were offered “minimal severance”. This followed an earlier wave of BioWare layoffs back in August where 50 staff members were made redundant to “meet the needs of upcoming projects.”
Mass-Effect devs join the team
As reported by GameBeat, several Mass Effect developers joined the development team working on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to help the game cross the finish line. Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah also joined to serve as a consultant.
Alpha milestone reached
In a Dragon Age: Dreadwolf blog update published in October 2022, GM Gary McKay revealed the game has reached its Alpha Milestone, meaning it is now playable from start to finish. But the game “is not finished by any means”, and the studio is now focused on polishing narrative and gameplay features.
“First and foremost, we can now turn our sights toward bringing the visual fidelity to its final form and iterating on gameplay features,” McKay wrote in the blog. “The big question now is, “Where do we focus our efforts?” To answer that, we solicit feedback from a number of sources, including our Community Council members who each have unique perspectives and experiences, our quality verification team, and extensive internal playtesting. Gathering feedback from multiple sources gives us the greatest insight on where we need to spend more time improving the experience.
“Additionally, we can now evaluate the game’s pacing, how relationships evolve over time, and the player’s progression, as well as narrative cohesion – essentially how the story comes together. We can take the story we’ve written and see if we’re expressing it well through the characters, dialogue, cinematics, and ultimately, the player’s journey. Now that we have the ability to do a complete playthrough, we can iterate and polish on the things that matter most to our fans.”
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