Dragon Age star Alix Wilton Regan has shared her personal reaction to the backlash against last year's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, attributing the "mixed reactions" to individuals who "wanted to see the game fail, or wanted to see [BioWare] fail."
Wilton Regan, who portrays the Female Inquisitor in both Dragon Age: Inquisition and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, expressed to IGN her deep disappointment over BioWare's latest release not resonating with a broader audience, despite receiving largely favorable reviews from critics.
In a recent interview covering her notable video game roles—including her part in Microsoft's upcoming Perfect Dark reboot—Wilton Regan reminisced fondly about her time as BioWare's Inquisitor. However, she expressed doubts about reprising the character in future projects.
"I feel absolutely devastated for BioWare as a studio that they received such mixed reactions to the game," Wilton Regan stated regarding the feedback on The Veilguard. "I personally thought it was a really strong game. I thought it was just BioWare being more BioWare.
"I also believe that a lot of people kind of wanted to see it fail, or wanted to see [BioWare] fail, either because they're just really bad people on the internet—of which there are unfortunately many, as we have discovered."
Upon its release, The Veilguard faced review bombing online. Critics labeled the game as "woke" due to its inclusion of a non-binary companion character and the option for players to choose a transgender protagonist. On Steam, Dragon Age: The Veilguard currently holds a 'Mixed' user rating, with user-defined tags such as "LGBTQ+" and "politics."
"People were attacking the game before it was even released," Wilton Regan added. "It's ridiculous. How can you judge a game, a book, a film, or a TV show before it's actually released? You can't. It's an idiotic stance to take."
In January, publisher EA reported that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had "underperformed" by approximately 50% compared to their expectations, shortly after the game's director, Corrine Busche, announced her departure from the company. Additionally, other BioWare employees who contributed to the game were laid off.
That same month, BioWare announced that it had issued the final update for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, with no further content planned or expected.
"I only ever want to see the folks from BioWare thrive, because I adore them," Wilton Regan concluded. "And whatever they go on to do next, I have no doubt their talents will be richly rewarded. We're really lucky we'll get more gold from them in the future."
A streamlined BioWare team is now focusing on the development of Mass Effect 5, though no release date has been set yet.
