Key points
- The directors of Dragon Age: The Veilguard seem confident that the series has a future.
- Creative director John Epler is fascinated by the lands beyond Thedas.
- There are many references to lands beyond Thedas in existing lore.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard directors Corinne Busche and John Epler held an ask-me-anything (AMA) on Reddit for Dragon Age Day, an annual celebration of BioWare's fantasy role-playing game series.
Several attendees questioned the pair about the future of the Dragon Age series. After all, Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been in development for nearly a decade, and while it has performed well with critics, fan opinion is divided. Not to mention, the jury is still out on how the game performed commercially, with no social media posts from BioWare and Electronic Arts praising the game's performance.
Essentially, fans aren't convinced another Dragon Age title is warranted. The couple seems confident in the future of the series, but no one can predict what will happen in several years. However, if we get a scenario featuring Dragon Age 5, Epler revealed that he is “fascinated” by the lands beyond Thedas.
The lands beyond
“I don't think it's any secret that I find the idea of 'what lies beyond the sea' fascinating. It comes across a lot in the Bellara content: what happened in parts of the world that weren't Thedas?” says Epler. “But Kal-Sharok is another place I'd like to spend more time in. It has a very unique relationship with dwarven culture, and in particular in a post [Dragon Age: The Veilguard] world, it seems like it would be really interesting to spend more time with them.”
Several lands beyond Thedas are referenced in the series, but we've never had the opportunity to visit any of them. The Qunari, for example, did not originally come from Par Vollen, but were fleeing from something beyond the Boer Ocean. Then there are the Voshai, travelers (mostly Dwarves) who come from a “catastrophic” land on the Volca Sea.
We know from recent Dragon Age literature that a shadowy group called the Executors are operating in Thedas, and represent enemies “overseas”. Even closer to home, there is a land adjacent to Thedas, cut off from the continent by the Hunterhorn Mountains. This is where the Warden will presumably go to investigate the Scourge, should they survive the events of Dragon Age: Origins.
All in all, there's a lot of room for future Dragon Age writers to explore if we eventually get a Dragon Age 5.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in BioWare's fantasy role-playing game series formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
