Dragon Age 4 aiming for 2023 release despite EA Play Live absence

It’s been three years since Dragon Age 4 was announced and fans may need to wait at least two more (pic: BioWare/EA)

EA’s keeping any and all Dragon Age 4 news close to its chest, but it’s apparently on track to release in 2023.

When EA began to share details about this year’s EA Play Live presentation, it was quick to temper expectations by saying it wouldn’t feature updates on the new Mass Effect and Dragon Age games (or Star Wars or Skate 4).

Usually, a lack of news can be seen as a bad sign. But, according to VentureBeat, sources familiar with the next Dragon Age (unofficially referred to as Dragon Age 4) say that it could release in 2023.

Furthermore, VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb writes that its absence from EA Play Live will allow the publisher to start preparing its marketing, which will no doubt begin in 2022 if EA’s aiming to have the game out the following year.

Unsurprisingly, when asked about the release date, an EA spokesperson simply said that the company has no plans to officially share that detail yet. Official updates for the game have also been sparse and while EA and BioWare have shared some details most of it has just been concept art or unfinished footage.

The 2023 release date could be backed up by the presence of a Dragon Age file found on the PlayStation Store. It’s not clear exactly what it is, but the common theory is it’s some kind of demo or alpha build, which would suggest that development has progressed to the point where at least some of the game is in a playable state.

VentureBeat also backs up a previous report about Dragon Age 4 being strictly a single-player adventure. Earlier this year, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier said that there were plans for it to be an online live service game, but they were eventually scrapped.

As VentureBeat points out, however, there may still be some multiplayer integration in the final product. After all, the last entry, Dragon Age Inquisition, featured a separate multiplayer mode where up to four players could take part in co-op missions.

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At the very least, it’s probably further into production than the new Mass Effect. Dragon Age 4 was announced in 2018, whereas the also unofficially named Mass Effect 4 was only confirmed in November last year.

Although those two didn’t make an appearance during EA Play Live, the presentation was not without big reveals. As well as Grid Legends the main highlight was a teaser trailer for a Dead Space remake, which was heavily rumoured prior to the event.

Dragon Age 4 is currently in development.

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