EA Dragon Age Director Departs

An X from Jeff Grubb supporting a rumor that Corrine Busche is departing Electronic Arts is confirmed on Eurogamer.net, who heard directly from the now-former Dragon Age game director herself. Refuting a separate element to the rumor, Grubb also reported his belief that BioWare Edmonton will not be closing, and Eurogamer states it "understands" that "BioWare itself is otherwise unaffected by any other changes." There's been backlash from some corners to aspects of the recently released Dragon Age: The Veilguard deemed too woke, but Corinne says she decided to leave for the chance to build a new RPG she "couldn't turn down":
"At the heart of it, this was about my own fulfillment," Busche told Eurogamer. "I did what I set out to do at BioWare. That is to come in and help right the ship. I love Dragon Age, and BioWare, so the chance to return the game to a proper quality single player RPG was the privilege of a lifetime.

"It was hard fought, as games with such tumultuous dev cycles rarely end up shipping, and even more rarely turn out great. We, as a team, did it. And it was hard. It took a toll on me. BioWare still has a lot of work to do culturally, but I do believe they are on the right footing now.

"As for me, my departure was voluntary, as I have been presented with an opportunity I couldn't turn down. I don’t want to say much more right now, but you can count on it being in the CRPG space and upholding the traditions of great characters."
View : : :
21 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
Newer [  1  2  ] Older
21.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 18, 2025, 15:37
21.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 18, 2025, 15:37
Jan 18, 2025, 15:37
 
El Pit wrote on Jan 18, 2025, 02:43:
WannaLogAlready wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 16:39:
Forget past iterations and expectations, the people that made the previous games and the then publishers standards are long gone.
And why should I forget all of this? ...
...
Fine man, by all means, you do you and recommend your views.
I recommended waiting for a sale and trying it and not putting so much faith on others' tastes.

I waited with no hurry to buy cheaply Mass Effect Andromeda and had a complete blast (patched and modded, and specially, tweaked to my play preferences).
See MEA reviews, some really love it, others, expecting the first games outstanding standards are disappointed.

I always prefer to try and be -hopefully- happily surprised than lose that opportunity.
Each as he wants (and can), peace.
Avatar 58799
20.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 18, 2025, 04:22
20.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 18, 2025, 04:22
Jan 18, 2025, 04:22
 
Sho wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 13:44:
All the snark aside, now that some time has passed, what's everyone's take on Veilguard from those who have played it? I've heard so many diverging opinions it's a little bit difficult to see where the dust has settled.

It’s alright. Not game of the year by any stretch but for what it is? It’s alright. Since I skipped inquisition after dragon age 2 I think?… it’s been so long now. If you put this game in a bubble with a bare bones idea of why things in this game universe are how they are, it’s fine.

I play it on and off currently. The boss/mini-boss battles are a little bit too twitchy for my personal taste.
Rimmer: “Step up to Red Alert.”
Kryten: “Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb.”

ALSO: https://www.stopkillinggames.com/
Avatar 58207
19.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 18, 2025, 02:43
El Pit
 
19.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 18, 2025, 02:43
Jan 18, 2025, 02:43
 El Pit
 
WannaLogAlready wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 16:39:
Forget past iterations and expectations, the people that made the previous games and the then publishers standards are long gone.
And why should I forget all of this?
If they wanted a new action-oriented game, they could have started a new franchise instead of turning Dragon Age into a Mass Effect game. But they guessed this would sell better to a younger audience which would be overwhelmed by tactical gaming mechanics. The Tiktok kids cannot concentrate enough for a game where you pause the game to assess the situation and decide your next move. Therefore: screw the people in power that decided to Frankenstein the Dragon Age franchise into a Mass Effect fantasy spin-off. /Old man shakes fist at the sky while yelling Matlock!
In the current political and social climate, don't be an aggressive monkey . Show that you have evolved that important thin sugar coating called civilization. Don't fall for the fools.
18.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 23:50
18.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 23:50
Jan 17, 2025, 23:50
 
What goes up, must come down. Most devs still have WAY more people than pre-CoVid. It is only natural that they have to downscale because those delusions of a permanent growth haven't played out.

UbiSoft is crazy. They have had 20K+ employees until recently which is completely insane for the little output they generate and for the relatively little revenue they are making. Like, EA has roughly 14K employees at $7.5bn revenue and Ubi has just under 19K employees now at "only" about $2bn revenue (2024 forecast).

Ubi are in need of massive streamlining and restructuring. They need to shut down some studios and fire literally a dozen thousand people or so to get their shit back together.
The main reason no one has wanted to acquire UbiSoft yet is because they are such an unmanageable mess. Tencent has already been invested for a long time but even they do not want to actually buy out UbiSoft.
According to the recent rumors (that make sense) they (Ubi + Tencent) seem to be looking at a deal where they basically split up UbiSoft into a good bank (the valuable IP etc.) and a bad bank.

That said, Ubi's issues are often times exaggerated as if they are about to croak. They're not. Star Wars Oulaws has underperformed, XDefiant was a flop and AssCreed Shadows had to be delayed but they are expected to still reach a break-even result for the financial year.
They are not making substantial losses yet. It's just a bit of a messy company that could get in serious trouble if they continue producing flops while not cutting down on costs/staff but they are nowhere near an existential crisis YET.
-=Threadcrappeur Extraordinaire=-
17.
 
No subject
Jan 17, 2025, 23:15
17.
No subject Jan 17, 2025, 23:15
Jan 17, 2025, 23:15
 
RedEye9 wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 20:06:
2024 Was the Year the Bottom Fell Out of the Games Industry

The crash hasn't even started in earnest with the games industry. That was the start, just wait for Ubisoft to enter into restructuring this year and the Xbox Gamepass to fail which will lead to more studios closing.
--
"For every human problem,
there is a neat, simple solution;
and it is always wrong."
--H.L. Mencken
16.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 21:39
16.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 21:39
Jan 17, 2025, 21:39
 
Jim wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 15:53:
I enjoyed the game. yeah, the companion writing could be weak or cringy at times but the overall story was pretty good and the ending IMO was great. [EDIT]
I agree with what you wrote (before I trimmed it down for the quote). I finished the game a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it a lot. I liked having the fixed central base that you quest from, and the updated action fighting was understandable and workable.
Avatar 13545
15.
 
Re: removed
Jan 17, 2025, 20:06
15.
Re: removed Jan 17, 2025, 20:06
Jan 17, 2025, 20:06
 
Avus wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 19:50:
Btw, there is rumour that because of this game sales failure, Bioware Edmonton will be closed with her too.
At least it's a well sourced rumor. /s
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1845910/discussions/0/578249790940308763/
"I heard somewhere ..."
somewhere

2024 Was the Year the Bottom Fell Out of the Games Industry
Microsoft shuttered Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks; Sony shut down Firewalk.
In 2023, more than 10,000 developers lost their jobs. 14,600 jobs were lost in 2024.
There's no reason to expect 2025 to be any different.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%E2%80%932024_video_game_industry_layoffs
Avatar 58135
14.
 
Re: removed
Jan 17, 2025, 19:50
14.
Re: removed Jan 17, 2025, 19:50
Jan 17, 2025, 19:50
 
Btw, there is rumour that because of this game sales failure, Bioware Edmonton will be died with her too.
“I am not a Mac user unless under duress.” - John Carmack
Avatar 58298
13.
 
removed
Jan 17, 2025, 17:59
13.
removed Jan 17, 2025, 17:59
Jan 17, 2025, 17:59
 
* REMOVED *

This comment was deleted on Jan 17, 2025, 18:25. Reason: Back to the topic
Avatar 58135
12.
 
removed
Jan 17, 2025, 17:46
12.
removed Jan 17, 2025, 17:46
Jan 17, 2025, 17:46
 
* REMOVED *

This comment was deleted on Jan 17, 2025, 18:24. Reason: Yawn
“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." - Aaron Sati
11.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 16:39
11.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 16:39
Jan 17, 2025, 16:39
 
Forget past iterations and expectations, the people that made the previous games and the then publishers standards are long gone.
70% score on Steam, some really love it and write highly about it, even if a minority.

So, get it at a sale as a new slate/kind of experience and enjoy it (or not).

This comment was edited on Jan 17, 2025, 16:51.
Avatar 58799
10.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 16:13
10.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 16:13
Jan 17, 2025, 16:13
 
Skuggasveinn wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 13:08:
"I did what I set out to do at BioWare. That is to come in and help right the ship."

I think she misspelled sink in that sentence.

Hahahaha bullseye bro!!
-=Threadcrappeur Extraordinaire=-
9.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 15:53
Jim
9.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 15:53
Jan 17, 2025, 15:53
Jim
 
I enjoyed the game. yeah, the companion writing could be weak or cringy at times but the overall story was pretty good and the ending IMO was great. anyone interested in the series should pick it up. The companions have fully fleshed story arcs, additionally they each represent factions that have fully fleshed story arcs. The gameplay has lots tweaks to overall improve the experience. There is tons of loot but duplicates only raise rarity and level of existing loot. For the DEI stuff, don't pick those options and maybe avoid that specific companion quests and you are fine. I found more disturbing the necromancer companion quest.

Combat is very different. Lots of people will hate it because you have to be aggressive no matter what class you play, since all ranged enemies will target you. That can be an adjustment if you expect to play an all ranged mage.
8.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 15:52
8.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 15:52
Jan 17, 2025, 15:52
 
Sho wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 13:44:
All the snark aside, now that some time has passed, what's everyone's take on Veilguard from those who have played it? I've heard so many diverging opinions it's a little bit difficult to see where the dust has settled.

i watched some video of a person breaking down the combat system and it looked really well done.
Avatar 57660
7.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 15:27
7.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 15:27
Jan 17, 2025, 15:27
 
The term 'woke' started as a term of one being against inclusiveness and acceptance, now the term has degraded to anything I don't like.

The problem with VG is it was a surface level, shallow CRPG with bad writing, questionable art,design choices and forgettable characters. Anything else like 'oh wah social issues hurt my feelings' nonsense is just that, fluff, insignificant to the larger problem why it actually mostly failed.


This comment was edited on Jan 17, 2025, 18:27.
6.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 14:20
Pinchy
 
6.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 14:20
Jan 17, 2025, 14:20
 Pinchy
 
For what it's worth, it was one of my favorite games in recent history. I really only thought one specific plot line was truly over the top in terms of checking a diversity box, but I absolutely loved the characters, the side character plots were strong, and the main story achieved what I wanted. Main story isn't necessarily anything to write home about, but it's more in the world of Thedas with the occasional fun callouts to previous games. The tie to previous games with the whole save file/decision point mapping wasn't there, but it ended up fine. Voice acting was, as per usual, top notch. Combat was great when you get over the fact that it's not anything like DA1, 2, or Inquisition - it felt way more like Mass Effect which I was fine with. Either way, I loved it.
5.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 14:06
5.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 14:06
Jan 17, 2025, 14:06
 
Skuggasveinn wrote on Jan 17, 2025, 13:08:
"I did what I set out to do at BioWare. That is to come in and help right the ship."

I think she misspelled sink in that sentence.
4.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 13:44
Sho
 
4.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 13:44
Jan 17, 2025, 13:44
 Sho
 
All the snark aside, now that some time has passed, what's everyone's take on Veilguard from those who have played it? I've heard so many diverging opinions it's a little bit difficult to see where the dust has settled.
3.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 13:08
3.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 13:08
Jan 17, 2025, 13:08
 
"I did what I set out to do at BioWare. That is to come in and help right the ship."

I think she misspelled sink in that sentence.
2.
 
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs
Jan 17, 2025, 12:58
2.
Re: EA Dragon Age Director Departs Jan 17, 2025, 12:58
Jan 17, 2025, 12:58
 
kNOTthxbai

-=Threadcrappeur Extraordinaire=-
21 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
Newer [  1  2  ] Older