With BioWare gone after more than three decades of genre-defining hits, all eyes are now on the loveable worlds and universes the developer created. But is there any hope for an outside company to buy or invest in either Dragon Age or Mass Effect?
BioWare veteran and long-time producer Mark Darrah was asked that question shortly before his former employer's tragic shutdown, in an interview with Eldorado.gg, and he essentially explained that Dragon Age probably isn't as valuable as Mass Effect because it shares too much in common with other popular fantasy franchises.
"I would say Mass Effect as an IP, without the people attached to it, is more valuable than Dragon Age," Darrah says. "With Mass Effect, you're getting the worldbuilding. It's not that there's not a ton of worldbuilding in Dragon Age, but the worldbuilding in Dragon Age versus the worldbuilding in any Lord of the Rings game, or a Baldur’s Gate game, or a Witcher game - they are similar enough that it would be tempting to just do it again, just make another one, just make another new fantasy."
Darrah explains that a potential buyer would have to consider how much the Dragon Age IP costs to acquire, and then how many additional sales the Dragon Age name would even attract. "So let's say Larian [developer of Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity] decided they were going to buy Dragon Age and make another game. The question they have to ask is, 'If we were to do that, is it going to sell enough more copies than us just making Wyvern Era, a Dragon Age game with the serial number filed off, call it a spiritual successor to Dragon Age?'"
For most companies, the numbers don't quite add up, Darrah says. The majority of companies would likely be better off making their Dragon Age-inspired games, instead. "Because I think that the IP certainly carries a fan base, carries a legacy, and it carries an existing audience," he adds. "But unless you're like [former lead writer] David Gaider or someone with a track record with the franchise, you're not going to get those people coming along to a new Dragon Age game for free."
