Alix Wilton Regan expressed her deep disappointment over the backlash following the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The game received mixed reviews and failed to meet Electronic Arts’ player count expectations. Regan, who voiced the female Inquisitor in both Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Veilguard, described feeling “absolutely devastated” by the negative reaction from some fans. Despite its strong points and overall average score of 80 on OpenCritic, Dragon Age: The Veilguard became one of 2024’s most divisive titles, with a mixed reception on Steam, where only 69% of player reviews were positive.
Released in October 2024, Dragon Age: The Veilguard marked the fourth main installment in the popular RPG franchise. Having been in development for nearly nine years, the game’s initial trailer sparked controversy, and opinions remained sharply divided even after its launch. In an interview with IGN, Regan voiced her empathy for BioWare, noting the challenges the studio faced with the game’s reception. She believed the game was a substantial achievement and lamented that some individuals seemed intent on seeing it fail, often expressing negativity online even before the game was available.
The backlash escalated quickly, leading to coordinated review bombings on platforms like Metacritic, where critics targeted the game’s LGBTQ representation, labeling it as “woke.” Consequently, Dragon Age: The Veilguard underperformed, attracting approximately 1.5 million players in its first quarter, significantly below EA’s expectations. Due to this disappointing performance, plans for post-launch DLC and major content updates have effectively been abandoned. Following the announcement of these results, layoffs occurred at BioWare, disbanding the team that developed Dragon Age, with some members shifted to other EA projects. BioWare is now focusing on the next Mass Effect title, though detailed information about its release remains scarce.