A Dragon Age Trilogy remaster probably won't happen as no one still employed at BioWare knows how the engine works, claims producer - Eurogamer.net

What the report says

Eurogamer reports that former BioWare producer Mark Darrah has cast doubt on the chances of a remastered collection of the first three Dragon Age games, citing a lack of remaining in-house expertise with the older technology behind the series. Darrah told FRVR that a proposed “champion edition” covering Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition had been discussed during his time at BioWare, but faced major practical obstacles.

According to Eurogamer’s account of Darrah’s comments, the central problem is that the earlier Dragon Age titles were built on proprietary BioWare technology derived from the Aurora engine, rather than a widely supported engine such as Unreal. Origins used Eclipse, while Dragon Age 2 used Lycium; both were based on Aurora. Darrah said BioWare no longer has people who understand that engine family well, making outside support difficult. Inquisition, which used Frostbite, would be less complicated to update by comparison.

Darrah also suggested that such a remaster would require a new team, but questioned whether Electronic Arts would allocate staff for that purpose if it meant pulling people away from other BioWare projects. He nonetheless said he thought a collection could perform well commercially.

The issue matters because Dragon Age is one of BioWare’s best-known role-playing franchises, and fans have often compared its remaster prospects with Mass Effect Legendary Edition, released in 2021. Eurogamer notes that Darrah left BioWare in 2020 and has since spoken publicly about past studio projects, including Anthem.