Dragon Age Sequel Potential Is Infinite

How fast can BioWare create and launch videogames? In November 2009, the company released Dragon Age: Origins, an old school role playing experience set in a new fantasy world. In February 2010, the outfit put out Mass Effect 2, a more action-oriented space-based role playing game.

In March, it launched The Awakening, an expansion for Dragon Age, which delivers more than 20 hours of gameplay and a whole new epic storyline. All of this while working on The Old Republic, a Star Wars-based MMO that should come out in 2011. How long can they actually keep this up?

Dr. Ray Muzyka, who is the Chief Executive Officer of BioWare and one of its co-founders, joked when talking to UGO that “We're planning for 17 games” to complete to Dragon Age saga. He then got serious and offered a perspective on the future, saying that “both Dragon Age and Mass Effect are franchises so they have different strategies and different kinds of story arcs but we plan on continuing to make games and worlds and expanding on those worlds in both franchises.”

One of the main concepts behind the company's strategy is to offer both more content for the games it already has out and deliver whole new titles featuring enhanced gameplay. The Awakening brings little novelty in terms of actual mechanics, but there are new spells, abilities, characters, enemies and a fresh narrative that allows the player to experience more of the game world.

Significant changes will probably only arrive in 2011, when BioWare suggested it might launch Dragon Age 2. Until then, we will probably get some more downloadable content for The Awakening expansion. BioWare needs to make sure that it sidesteps the problems it has had with the Return to Ostagar content earlier in the year.