Corinne Busche, director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, is reportedly departing from BioWare, an EA-owned studio. Eurogamer reports her departure, expected in the coming weeks, follows the game's launch last October. While IGN has sought comment from EA, Eurogamer states that Busche's exit doesn't signify broader studio restructuring.
Busche joined BioWare in 2019 after contributing to various Sims projects at Maxis. Her directorship was crucial in navigating the final stages of The Veilguard's development, a journey detailed in IGN's article, "How BioWare Finally Got Dragon Age to the Finish Line After a Tumultuous Decade," which highlighted the game's near-decade-long, complex development process. This included a significant overhaul shifting from a planned multiplayer game to a single-player RPG.
Eurogamer asserts Busche's departure is unrelated to The Veilguard's commercial performance, the details of which remain undisclosed by EA pending their Q3 2025 financial report on February 4th. BioWare has confirmed no DLC is planned for The Veilguard, with their focus now on Mass Effect 5.
The news follows August 2023 layoffs affecting approximately 50 BioWare employees, including veterans like narrative designer Mary Kirby. These cuts coincided with EA's internal restructuring into sports and non-sports divisions and fueled rumors of a potential BioWare acquisition. The decision to transition Star Wars: The Old Republic to a third-party publisher was reportedly to allow BioWare to concentrate on Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
The tumultuous journey continued with the 2024 reveal of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, initially met with negative fan reaction, prompting a swift release of gameplay footage to alleviate concerns. The name change from Dreadwolf also drew criticism. Despite early setbacks, later impressions were generally more positive.
The future of the Dragon Age franchise remains uncertain, leaving fans questioning whether BioWare will receive the opportunity to develop a sequel to The Veilguard.
