Dragon Age: The Veilguard director has left Bioware Edmonton after working under EA for 18 years. Corinne Busche started her career in 2006; within six years, she became a Lead Designer behind expansions for Sims 3. Within eight more years, she received multiple promotions until becoming a full-fledged Game Director.
Most notably known for her work on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Corinne is now departing for veiled pastures.
Eurogamer received word after rumors started circulating the night before that she was, in fact, leaving the studio, "At the heart of it, this was about my own fulfillment. I did what I set out to do at BioWare. That is to come in and help right the ship. I love Dragon Age, and BioWare, so the chance to return the game to a proper quality single player RPG was the privilege of a lifetime."
"It was hard fought, as games with such tumultuous dev cycles rarely end up shipping, and even more rarely turn out great. We, as a team, did it. And it was hard. It took a toll on me. BioWare still has a lot of work to do culturally, but I do believe they are on the right footing now."
"As for me, my departure was voluntary, as I have been presented with an opportunity I couldn't turn down. I don't want to say much more right now, but you can count on it being in the CRPG space and upholding the traditions of great characters."
Dragon Age: The Veilguard sales were off to an initial promising start, but after some time, the stiff writing some of our writers had with it caused disappointing sales. According to GamesIndustry.biz, its sales numbers were 18% lower than that of Dragon Dogma's 2 and 20% lower than Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. It came in behind Silent Hill 2 and even Hogwarts Legacy in October 2024.
As for the opportunity she was presented with, all we can do is wonder what Corinne will be working on next until she's ready to announce it herself. It's very rare for someone to be presented with opportunities that they "couldn't turn down," so I wish nothing but the best to her in the future. Between Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate, the CRPG she's working on could be of any formula.
While Corinne stated her leave was voluntary, it's hard not to speculate that part of her reason for leaving came down to disappointing sales. After two large single-player RPGs by EA (Dragon Age and Mass Effect: Andromeda) failed to capture their intended audience, it leaves games like the subsequent Mass Effect in a potential "must deliver" position. What about the studio behind the latest Dragon Age, BioWare Edmonton?
Given Andromeda's poor reception, BioWare Montreal was later folded into EA Motive five months after release. With the initial rumor that Corinne was leaving the team in Edmonton, another buzz was circulating that the Dragon Age team could meet a similar fate in February. This is something we'll have to follow up on once we hear more definitive news.
What it could mean for the potential of other BioWare single-player RPGs going forward is uncertain. With Mass Effect 5 in full development by Mass Effect veterans, Edmonton was the studio that worked on the first trilogy. Here's to hoping everyone's job is safe, as the industry doesn't need yet another studio closure or cancellation.
