Fans of Dragon Age: Origins have been dealt a crushing blow after learning that a remaster of the beloved RPG was once in active consideration but was ultimately shelved before it could even begin. In a recent interview with MrMattyPlays, former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah confirmed that there were genuine discussions about bringing the original game, and possibly its sequels, back with a modern overhaul.
The idea came shortly after the massive success of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, which proved that polished remasters of classic titles could be both critically acclaimed and highly profitable. Darrah explained that the plan was to update the game’s tools to the Frostbite engine and outsource the work to a talented modding studio. In theory, a remaster could also have included Dragon Age 2 at little additional cost. But unlike Mass Effect, which was developed entirely on Unreal Engine 3, each Dragon Age title ran on a different engine, making the process far more complicated and expensive.
The real deal-breaker came down to money. According to Darrah, EA’s stance was essentially, “Go ahead and do it, but use the budget you already have.” With BioWare already juggling multiple projects, there simply wasn’t enough funding to make the remaster happen without sacrificing other games in development. This financial constraint, paired with the technical hurdles, ultimately saw the project scrapped in favor of other priorities.
Adding to the frustration, Darrah suggested that EA has a lukewarm view on remasters in general, despite the proven profitability of nostalgia-driven releases. He even called it strange for a publicly traded company to be “against free money.” The situation is made worse by the fact that the most recent Dragon Age entry, The Veilguard, fell short of EA’s expectations, which may have further damaged the publisher’s confidence in the franchise’s immediate potential.
For longtime fans, the news stings. Dragon Age: Origins remains one of the most celebrated RPGs of its era, and the thought of experiencing it again with modern visuals and refined gameplay is now nothing more than a “what could have been” scenario. The hope is that EA will eventually realize the value of bringing the series back when the timing is right but for now, the Grey Wardens will have to remain in the past.
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