Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has hit its Alpha milestone and is playable start to finish
"From the opening scenes of the first mission to the very end.”
BioWare have announced, via a blog post by general manager Gary McKay, that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, the fourth game in their fantasy RPG series, has completed its Alpha milestone. If that means nothing to you, BioWare describe it as the moment “a game all comes together… we can experience the entire game, from the opening scenes of the first mission to the very end.” The Dragon Age sequel was officially announced in 2018, but it was initially conceived as a game about wizard heists before restarting development. So, Dreadwolf's progress should be encouraging to fans of the series.
McKay's blog post is part of the studio’s initiative to be more transparent with fans; they had previously announced the RPG entered its production phase in February. With this newfound transparency, McKay also shared what the studio would be working on now Dreadwolf has hit Alpha, saying that "we can now evaluate the game’s pacing, how relationships evolve over time, and the player’s progression,” as well as gathering feedback and extensive testing. BioWare is also hard at work on a follow-up to their Mass Effect trilogy, as they “look forward to celebrating our community on N7 Day next month.”
BioWare seems to have had a long history with messy dev cycles, with Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect Andromeda reportedly suffering from extensive crunch. Most notably, Anthem, the failed live-service, had the studio’s most publicly troubled development. In response to poor working conditions, Dreadwolf's QA staff successfully voted to unionise, earlier this year. Here’s hoping Dreadwolf comes together smoothly.