Former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah recently spilled the beans about BioWare’s unsuccessful attempts to pitch remakes or remasters of the beloved Dragon Age series to Electronic Arts. Despite BioWare’s enthusiasm and creative proposals, EA refused to fund the project.
In an interview with YouTuber MrMattyPlays on August 10, 2025, Darrah disclosed how BioWare was eager to update the classic RPG franchise. Inspired by the success of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition released in 2021, they envisioned a similar revival for Dragon Age: Origins and its sequels.
BioWare had several strategies in mind, including a refreshed branding called “The Champion’s Trilogy,” which would bundle Dragon Age: Origins (2009), Dragon Age 2 (2011), and Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014). The goal was to remaster these games to rekindle interest in the series, especially after the mixed reactions to Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024.
Darrah shared specific ideas from the pitches, like enhancing the Frostbite tools and collaborating with a talented modding team to remake Dragon Age: Origins. He said, “One of the very earliest things was to find a mod house that seems talented and pay them to do a remake of Dragon Age: Origins. There were lots of pitches around, ‘Is there a way we can bring Dragon Age: Origins forward?’”
Moreover, Darrah suggested releasing Dragon Age 2 at a lower price due to shared assets and reduced development costs. However, a complete remake would demand substantial resources, overshadowing potential savings.
BioWare faced financial obstacles, as shifting funds from ongoing projects was not an option. Darrah pointed out EA’s puzzling hesitation toward remasters, despite their potential profitability. “EA’s historically been, and I don’t really know why, but they’ve even said this publicly, kind of against remasters. It’s strange for a publicly traded company to basically be against free money, but they seem to be against it.”
The complexity of remastering also lay in the technology. While Mass Effect’s remaster was feasible due to its foundation on Unreal Engine 3, Dragon Age’s different engine use, including Frostbite for Inquisition, posed additional challenges.
Despite these hurdles, fans still hope for a resurgence of this epic series, and Darrah’s insights provide a tantalizing glimpse into what might have been.
