Shadow Realms, a new IP that was first revealed at Gamescom last year, has been in development at Austin BioWare studios for quite some time. It isn’t like Bioware to create new IPs – They tend to stick very closely to formulas that they know work well. Dragon Age was the most recent IP that they created, and became insanely popular. This can be seen in the sales figures of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and I can confirm that it is fantastic. But after 6 months since it’s big reveal, after releasing more and more info about the game, BioWare sadly decided to drop development on Shadow Realms.
In the blog post announcing this news, the manager wrote that they are working on “additional ongoing enhancements to the award-winning Dragon Age: Inquisition, as well as the next game in the Mass Effect series and other new IP”. This is great news for some, and very disappointing for others.
He also mentions the focus on content for the Massively Multiplayer RPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, since the release of the new Star Wars movie this year makes it a big year for the franchise. This brings up the possibility that new content for the game will be added that links to the movie.
It’s always a shame to see a game with a lot of potential be dropped or never see the light of day (I’m looking at you, Starforge developers) but there is little to be done but look forward to the new IP that BioWare are working on now. Seeing it released by the end of the year is unlikely, but E3 and PAX can be looked forward to in the meantime for any more information about it. Whilst we wait, there’s probably a couple hundred hours of gameplay in Dragon Age: Inquisition to keep us busy. Time for a 100% completion, I should think!
Stick to what you know
What are you opinions? Do you think Bioware needs to branch out more? Let us know in the comments below!