Dragon Age: Veilguard – Decreased of its Player and What Went Wrong

Introduction

In the gaming sphere, the name of Dragon Age carries tremendous anticipation. Through the years, storytelling that has kept one hooked, immersive worlds, and complex characters have been well presented in games such as Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Hence, when their latest installment, Dragon Age: Veilguard, hit the market, players were prompt to jump into it. But with a decade in development and a large studio behind it, the relatively low player count for Veilguard has become quite a surprise. How could such a long-legacy, budgeted AAA title end up in such a position? Teardowns of some key reasons lie below.

1. A Shifting Audience Focus: Who Is Veilguard Really For?

The biggest criticism one could throw at Veilguard, though, is that it seems retrofitted specifically to placate a more “modern audience.” At this point, large studios have been hammering it in how much they want to craft inclusive, diverse, and socially conscious titles. Again, this can be a very good thing, but sometimes the danger exists of alienating an already-established fanbase. Veilguard, however, did have a number of long-time Dragon Age fans who felt that the tone and characters of the game served more to pander to current social trends rather than embracing the high-stake fantasy grit they had grown to love.

It seemed the developers opted to go for wide appeal, writing up characters and stories that would resonate with a young, more diverse gaming audience. It’s a very precarious balancing act. When trying to appease every possible demographic, a game can easily lose its identity. It has, as some players phrase it, become “watered down” or “safe.” For a franchise like Dragon Age, which is particularly known for taking on very mature and often gray moral themes, this shift may not be placed very well.

2. Playing It Safe: A Risk-Averse Approach

Setting aside, another factor that probably further worsens matters with Veilguard is an apparent fear of taking risks. Previous Dragon Age games were not afraid to push the envelope. They dealt with complex issues-power and religion, and even discrimination-but they did so in service to the story and respectful of player intelligence. It made these Dragon Age games feel bold and unpredictable.

Overall, Veilguard feels rather deflated in terms of narrative choices and story reveals-as if at every turn the game was afraid of offending or challenging players too much. This sometimes makes the storyline feel less impactful, lacking in emotional weight compared to previous installments.

For a game that took 10 whole years to develop, one would expect nothing but a quantum leap forward to set a new standard for the franchise. What they got, many feel, was a game that tried a little too hard to satisfy everybody and ended up satisfying no one. In a bid not to court controversy, Veilguard may have sacrificed some of the narrative risks that give games their spark.

3. The Development Process: 10 Years, But At What Cost?

After a game has been in development as long as Veilguard, expectations for any end product are through the roof, especially when one wonders how 10 continuous years of work and polish could lead to a game being described as “unfinished” or “unpolished”. Part of the problem might well be that visions and creative directions for a game change over years. Actually, in many cases, such long development cycles are pretty fraught with shifts in leadership, conflicting ideas, or even a complete overhaul of the core concept of the game.

Based on what was gathered, Veilguard went through a number of redesigns, partly because of changing industry trends and partly due to shifts in who was leading the studio. Such shifts can sometimes result in a final product that feels disjointed, as elements from different phases of development clash rather than work in harmony.

Technology and player expectations also fluctuate rapidly, and over ten-year spans, these changes are magnified. A game in development since the early 2010s would find it difficult to adjust to today’s standards. The final product is a title that could potentially be “stuck in time,” where it can’t utilize modern game systems as effectively as it should or appeal to the expectations of today’s gamer.

4. The “Modern Audience” Problem: Who Are They Really Targeting?

A big part of why Veilguard might have such a low player count is because it’s specifically said to be targeting a “modern audience.” Who exactly does that entail? Did those people actually buy the game? The suggestion of a “modern audience” tends to fall back on younger players who value inclusivity and social awareness in media. While there is a definite place for those values within games, not every franchise needs to tie a central focus around them.

The problem with Veilguard was that it tried to fit itself into these modern values, while trying to stay true to the core of Dragon Age. But here’s the thing: most franchises that have an already very well-established fanbase have a “core” constituency. In other words, these are players loyal to the series because of its existing themes, style, and approach to storytelling. The risk when studios pivot to attract a new demographic is alienating the very players who have made the series popular.

On top of that, the “modern audience” is not always so interested in games as the traditional following, which includes every release and all day-one purchases along with their expansions. In trying to please all, Veilguard may have watered down the game experience such that its overall appeal decreases for both new and long-time players.

5. Gameplay Mechanics: Are They Up to Par?

One of the aspects Veilguard received criticism for is gameplay. A AAA title should have smooth, polished, and appealing gameplay; too many players reported that Veilguard feels repetitive, with unsatisfying combat and unrewarding exploration.

Worth noting here is that, while storytelling has always been a strong point in the Dragon Age series, the games also contain some level of gameplay. These two earlier ones included both strategic and action-oriented combat, whereby players could choose different ways with which to continue their journey. Contrasting this is the fact that the gameplay of Veilguard is very simplified, including less player choice in both strategy and decisions.

Because this very game took a whole decade in development, it is expected that players are to receive a gameplay experience that would at least match up with the epic scope of its story. If some not-so-hyped gameplay was delivered, then it would be much harder for any player to stay invested in such a form of gameplay.

6. Can Veilguard Bounce Back?

Just about every game industry has examples of games that didn’t do well at launch, finding later success through updates, patches, and community support. If the developers behind Veilguard actually listen to player feedback, there is, of course, a chance they turn things around. By adding more challenging content to it, expansions with deeper storylines that are also more complex, or refining gameplay mechanics, the game would regain the interest of the players.

There is also the possibility to improve multiplayer or co-op features since, as we know, Veilguard does support them, and that’s one factor that gives life to games long after release. Still, it does seem apparent that changes need to be prominent to regain the trust of fans that have been let down.

Conclusion: A Lesson to Future AAA Titles

While Dragon Age: Veilguard perhaps didn’t make the grand entrance some fans were hoping for, it does teach valuable lessons to both developers and the industry as a whole: studios can’t simply ride off of a brand’s name in hopes it carries the game to success, especially when shifting focus far away from what made the series so successful in the first place. But whereas that reaches a wide, modern audience, it needs to be balanced with a little respect toward the series’ roots and its fans who’ve seen the series through thick and thin.

Whether Veilguard will return is yet to be determined. But one thing is for certain: in a world where gamers have the capability to play anything at any moment in time, a game that comes across as inauthentic or “safe” will never find its place.