The creators of Dragon Age: The Veilguard commented on the criticism of the game
At the end of October, Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released, passions around which raged even before the release due to an ambiguous marketing campaign. A month later, when the noise died down, the developers from BioWare gave the first big interview to Eurogamer about the results of the release.
The journalists talked to game director Corinne Busche and creative director John Epler. The latter admitted that they expected negative reactions from players, which was not a surprise for the studio:
Did we expect [conflicting reviews]? Yes and no. What we know is that these reactions have been a part of the Dragon Age journey with every entry. Even if you look back to Origins, it wasn't necessarily hailed at the time with the reverence that it is today, because people were still considering games like Neverwinter Nights, so we saw that through each entry. It was more-so this time than we were braced for, but we did expect it. I also think that comes from reinvention. One of the unique — I often call it a challenge and an opportunity of the franchise, is that it does reinvent itself with each entry.
It's been a decade since the last Dragon Age game came out, and a lot of people have spent that decade imagining various versions of what this game was going to be. The reality was whatever we came out with, it was never going to match the Dragon Age 4 in people's minds and people's imaginations.
As for the sales of The Veilguard, the developers were careful to note that they "an't discuss it and recalled the experience of Inquisition, which took several years to show decent numbers. However, they said that they were "very pleased" with the critical reception. Additionally, BioWare "learned" that releasing direct sequels to games long after they were released is not a good idea, so the next installment can focus on other stories that don't require players to have much knowledge of the franchise.
Recall that Dragon Age: The Veilguard only took sixth place in the US sales charts. Meanwhile, BioWare continues to support the game, releasing a new patch with a nice bonus for fans of the second part and making the character editor free. However, recently, an Xbox veteran voiced concerns that the studio could face more layoffs due to insufficient sales of The Veilguard.
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