A freelance video game writer with a unique working arrangement with BioWare confirmed that work on the fourth Dragon Age game is underway.
The video game writer, Alexis Kennedy, confirmed the development of the new Dragon Age title in a Eurogamer interview.
'Dragon Age 4' Confirmed
Kennedy, Sunless Sea developer Failbetter Games cofounder, was hired by BioWare in September 2016 to a mysterious project. He then said that he was involved in the development of "a significant piece of content," but refused to share any additional details.
BioWare has not exactly kept the scope of Kennedy's work a secret, as a tweet about the writer from earlier in the year by executive producer Mark Darrah even said "welcome to Dragon Age."
Before Kennedy officially started working for BioWare in February, there were several other projects that kept him busy. These include story content for strategy game Stellaris, writing for an unannounced historical game, and his own Cultist Simulator.
"There are huge differences between all of that and what I'm working on at BioWare," Kennedy said in the interview with Eurogamer, before pausing and then continuing with "which I can now legitimately say is in the Dragon Age franchise although it has been known for a while."
By now, Dragon Age fans would have a good idea of the direction that the fourth game will take, as the end of Trespasser, the last DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition, strikes a dagger into a map of the Tevinter Imperium, which is a new region within the Dragon Age universe.
Kennedy also revealed that he was given considerable freedom to develop a story that is separated from other sections of the upcoming title, which is understandable given his unique working relationship with BioWare.
Working As A Remote Guest Writer For BioWare
Kennedy has an unusual working arrangement with BioWare, as he is the developer's first ever guest writer. The Dragon Age team is based in Canada in BioWare Edmonton, while Kennedy lives in Greenwich, U.K.
Kennedy does his writing during U.K. working hours, after reading through the messages and emails he received from BioWare overnight. Meetings with BioWare take place in his late afternoon, just as BioWare Edmonton begins its day.
While Kennedy sees being free from the distractions in an office environment as an advantage, the difficult communication between him and BioWare is viewed as a disadvantage. Any questions he needs to ask will not be answered until BioWare Edmonton goes online, so he needs to plan around the problem while waiting for the response.
'Dragon Age 4' On Its Way
The fourth Dragon Age, which will come after Dragon Age: Origins in 2009, Dragon Age 2 in 2011, and Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014, has not yet been officially announced by BioWare.
"It's a pleasure having Alexis involved with BioWare; we have no new information to share regarding Dragon Age at this time," said a representative of Electronic Arts, the parent company of BioWare, in a statement.
While nothing is known yet about the fourth Dragon Age, fans of the franchise may already be content by knowing that work on the game is already underway.
