BioWare’s general manager Gary McKay recently provided fans with a small update on Dragon Age 4. It’s not much, but it’s still something for news-hungry fans waiting for the next entry in the franchise. McKay revealed that Dragon Age 4 was in the middle of production alongside announcing some staff changes, like the leaving Christian Dailey and the new production director, game director, and product development director.
One position that went unnamed was creative director. As many may know, Matthew Goldman had been serving as the creative director on Dragon Age 4 until he left BioWare near the end of 2021. Some fans tend to look into personnel changes as bad signs for a game, but the truth is, it’s the nature of the industry. It certainly can mean something and it’s understandable to be concerned, but just because it can doesn’t mean it does. And although the BioWare blog went without mentioning it, Dragon Age 4 does have a new creative director: John Epler.
Epler confirmed this via his personal Twitter, and for fans who may not immediately recognize his name, it’s worth mentioning he has history at BioWare stretching back to 2008. He has various credits, across the video game development spectrum, for Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age: Inquisition, related DLCs like Witch Hunt and Trespasser, Mass Effect 2, and much more.
Former BioWare developer David Gaider, credited with the creation of Thedas and writing several characters like Zevran, Morrigan, Alistar, Shale, and Dorian, also commented on Epler’s appointment. As seen below, he signals it as a positive sign for Dragon Age 4. That’s encouraging, especially when paired with what Epler has done in the past.
Gaider, for example, once stated in a Lady Insanity interview that Epler was responsible for Iron Bull’s pansexuality, as he was originally race-gated due to various limitations. The popularity of Iron Bull in Dragon Age: Inquisition cannot be understated, and the freedom of player choice in terms of his romance went a long way. This is just one example, of course, but it bodes well.
Overall, if anyone is worried about the “qualifications” of the job, there is plenty of assurance that Epler has the history and expertise required. This may be exciting news for fans, but they should keep in mind it’ll still be a while before they see the game. Disregarding the aforementioned middle-of-production comment, insider Jeff Grubb recently mentioned that Dragon Age 4 was at least 18 months away, putting the game into a late 2023/potentially 2024 release window. This lines up, but if that is the case, perhaps some concrete Dragon Age 4 news will drop before 2022 ends.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
Source: Lady Insanity, Reddit