Mark Darrah spoke about some apocalyptic consequences if the studio is not allowed to work in peace.
The recent acquisition of Electronic Arts for $55 billion by a consortium including the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake, has caused a wave of concern among fans of EA game series, especially those associated with BioWare. The main reason for concern was the progressive themes characteristic of BioWare games, which may conflict with the conservative views of the new owners.
Former Dragon Age series director Mark Darrah recently shared his thoughts on the future of BioWare and its approach to storytelling in a video.
If this is not just a financial transaction, but also a PR move by the government of Saudi Arabia, then for studios without an established reputation, you can simply direct their messages in the right direction or, at least, divert them from topics that portray you in a bad light.
However, with BioWare, which has an established reputation for progressive views, the situation is more complicated.
It is hard to imagine that BioWare will be forced to abandon progressive ideas in favor of the opposite just because the government wants it. The public perception of a game from BioWare in this case will be catastrophically bad.
Darrah believes that if the new owners do not want to face public discontent, they have a choice: leave BioWare alone, try to make subtle adjustments to its work, or simply get rid of the studio.
There were rumors that after the weak financial performance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the fate of BioWare was already hanging by a thread, so it is unlikely that the new management will bother with the studio and try not to offend its employees.
