Eight years after the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition, fans of BioWare’s action fantasy RPG series are desperate for more. It seems like a sequel to the title should have always been the company’s first priority–after all, Inquisition was nominated for Game of the Year by a number of publications in 2014, finding praise from critics and players alike for everything from its story and characters to its visuals and combat. Dragon Age 4 was officially announced at The Game Awards 2018, but fans weren’t given the actual title until June 2022. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will be the next game in the franchise, and while progress has seemed slow-moving, EA provided a much-needed update on the game in a new blog post today. The title has completed its Alpha milestone, meaning that Dreadwolf is technically playable from start to finish.
In a new post on EA’s website, BioWare’s general manager Gary McKay gave some more details on what comes next.
“Now, for the first time, we can experience the entire game, from the opening scenes of the first mission to the very end. We can see, hear, feel, and play everything as a cohesive experience,” he began. “Of course, the game is not finished by any means, but Alpha is one of the most important game development milestones for a number of reasons. First and foremost, we can now turn our sights toward bringing the visual fidelity to its final form and iterating on gameplay features.”
To date, not much has been revealed about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Fans have only seen a few pieces of concept art and very brief teaser trailers. Inquisition left on somewhat of a cliffhanger, with Solas–or the Dreadwolf named Fen’Harel–preparing to tear down the veil to restore the Elven people to power.
In the post, McKay stresses that going forward, the dev team will continue to improve the overall experience of the game by working closely with and soliciting feedback from the Community Council, the quality verification team, and playtesters.
“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,” McKay said. “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.”
Dreadwolf will take place in Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Empire. While the city has been described numerous times in past titles, this will be the first time players will have a chance to visit and explore the area.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf does not currently have a release date. It will be the fourth game in the Dragon Age series and the direct sequel to the 2014 title Dragon Age: Inquisition. In June, it was announced that Dragon Age: Absolution, an animated series, would be coming to Netflix in December.
