The Veilguard May Have Performed Better As A Live Service Game Thinks EA CEO

Dragon Age: The Veilguard was supposed to be the title that brought the series back to life. Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons, even long-time fans were left disappointed with the game and it failed to reach financial expectations. While reviews were mostly positive, fans were disappointed with its lack of depth, while others thought it was too “woke”.

The funny option on the dialogue wheel with a smirking Lucanis on the left and a demon on the right.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Dialogue Wheel Is The Worst Yet

None of these options are different from each other.

Whatever your point of view is, there’s no denying that the game didn’t achieve what it set out to do. However, EA CEO Andrew Wilson has chalked The Veilguard’s financial failure down to the lack of live-service components. We know that at one point in the development cycle it was supposed to be a live-service game, and Wilson believes the change in direction may have been a mistake.

Should Dragon Age: The Veilguard Have Continued On Its Live-Service Path?

During a recent financial call (thanks PC Gamer), Wilson admitted that the game didn’t financially perform as expected, and perhaps turning away from the live-service route may have been the cause.

“Q3 was not the financial performance we wanted or expected,” said Wilson during the financial call. “We know as a leader in global entertainment, great titles—even when built and delivered with polished execution—can sometimes miss our financial expectations.

Dragon Age Veilguard image showing Neve.

“In order to break beyond the core audience, games need to directly connect to the evolving demands of players who increasingly seek shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives in this beloved category. Dragon Age had a high quality launch and was well-reviewed by critics and those who played; however, it did not resonate with a broad-enough audience in this highly competitive market.”

He doubled down on this by pointing out that a large chunk of the company’s earnings have come from live-service games. If you’ve been following our coverage of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you’ll know that the community had been complaining about a lot of things – live-service components was not one of them.

If we were to boil it down, Dragon Age: The Veilguard had mundane dialogue, boring romances, barely one interesting companion, and an overall grind of a mission system.