This morning, Corinne Busche’s departure from Bioware studios was confirmed by herself, initially reported as mere rumor. She explains leaving for a new position elsewhere after being offered the chance to create a new RPG that she “couldn’t refuse.” This clarification dismisses hallway gossip suggesting her departure was due to poor performance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, where she held the role of game director. Regarding sales figures, although Electronic Arts withholds this information, whispers indicate passable performance, nothing more, especially for a project like Dragon Age that required extensive development time. Busche highlights her reasons for leaving in recent statements: “Ultimately, it was a matter of personal fulfillment,” she told Eurogamer colleagues. “I did what I wanted to do at Bioware – that is, come and help right the ship. I love Dragon Age and Bioware, so the privilege of giving the game a quality standalone RPG was a lifetime opportunity. It was hard-earned, as turbulent development cycles seldom result in publication, let alone excellence. As a team, we managed it, and it was tough. It came at a high cost. Bioware still has much cultural work ahead, but I believe they’re on the right path now.”
Corinne Busche, who worked closely with John Epler, the creative director, took charge of overseeing the final stages of The Veilguard’s development from early 2022 until its release on October 31st last year. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a significant project that has spanned nearly a decade and incurred substantial costs, with several reboots along the way. Reports of her departure began circulating online late in the evening and were initially confirmed by journalist Jeff Grubb. This was subsequently verified by Eurogamer, which conducted an interview with Corinne Busche. Eurogamer also stated that the sales figures for Dragon Age: The Veilguard are unrelated to her leaving. Following the completion of The Veilguard, most of BioWare’s teams are now concentrating on the upcoming Mass Effect game, led by a team of seasoned video game professionals.
