Summary
- Sylvia Feketekuty, a prominent Dragon Age writer, has announced her departure from BioWare.
- Feketekuty was at BioWare for 15 years, writing beloved characters like Josephine and Emmrich.
- Fans mourn her departure from the studio.
No fan base pays quite as much attention to their game’s individual writers as Dragon Age fans—and for good reason. The writing of Dragon Age is what’s always stood out about the series, and the series’ writers have tended to be open about which characters they wrote and what their creative processes are.
Sylvia Feketekuty announced on her Bluesky account that she is departing BioWare. Her statement reads, “Hey everyone: sorry I’ve been quiet on here. Was busy with a big decision, namely deciding to leave BioWare. I’ll really, really miss working with everyone there. But after 15 years, it just feels like a good time for a break. If/when I’ve something noteworthy lined up, I’ll mention it here.”
A Veteran Departure
As Feketekuty mentioned in her post, she’s been working with BioWare for 15 years. She worked on Mass Effect 2’s Lair of the Shadow Broker expansion, Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Anthem and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Feketekuty is credited as the primary writer for Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Josephine and The Veilguard’s Emmrich. She’s been more prominent in fan discussions as of late as Emmrich is considered by many to be the best-written companion in a game that’s received plenty of criticism for the quality of its writing.
Feketekuty’s also been engaging more actively with the community lately, answering their questions about Emmrich. The now ex-BioWare writer is the next in a long line of departures and layoffs that have affected BioWare’s writing team over the past few years. Dragon Age creator David Gaider departed the studio in 2016 and two high-profile writers, Mary Kirby and Lukas Kristjanson, were laid off by BioWare during the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Feketekuty’s departure has been met with sadness by the community. In a Reddit thread by turtar_mara regarding her departure, fans shared praise and kind words for the writer’s work. “She was the star of Veilguard, she will be missed,” writes smolperson. Others have praised Feketekuty’s work on the game’s codex entries, which often felt closer to the series’ roots than the game’s dialogue and narrative.
“Emmrich, the Mourn Watch and Grand Necropolis were such highlights of the game. Sad to see another BioWare veteran leave,” comments DarysDaenerys. Indeed, it is always sad to see talented people depart beloved series.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.