This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
Summary
- Corrine Busche has reportedly left BioWare after 18 years amidst rumors of studio closure by EA.
- The Veilguard received mixed reviews, scoring lower than previous Dragon Age titles due to creative choices and narrative.
- Despite controversies, BioWare anticipated divisive reactions to The Veilguard, and Busche’s departure is not the only high-profile one post-launch.
After 18 years and various roles across EA and BioWare, including most recently as director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it appears Corrine Busche has left the studio.
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Reports first emerged about the exit last night and were confirmed today by Jeff Grubb.
Corrine Busche Has Reportedly Left BioWare
Grubb confirmed the news in a tweet, saying, “Corrine Busch, director of Dragon Age, really is leaving BioWare,” however, shared rumors that EA was closing BioWare Edmonton, the studio that worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, were wide of the mark. He said, “I don’t think EA is closing BioWare Edmonton. Was told there is nothing solid about that part of the rumor.”
According to her LinkedIn page, Busche had been at EA since December 2006, working on a myriad of games, including the Tiger Woods Golf franchise, The Sims, and Dragon Age. After 18 years, her departure is likely to come as a major surprise.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard proved, arguably, the most divisive in series history. Origins and Inquisition both scored in the mid-80s on Metacritic, while Veilguard struggled with an 82. It also only managed a 79 on Opencritic and a 4/5 from us here at TheGamer. Certain creative choices, an unpopular art style, and a shallow narrative were some of the more contentious issues. These all led to The Veilguard having a smaller launch in Europe than Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Despite review-bombings for being “too woke”, the divisive reception came as no surprise to the BioWare team, with Busche herself confirming the team expected varied reactions to the game.
Busche’s departure isn’t the first high-profile one since the launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Last month, it was confirmed that the writer for characters such as Josephine and Emmrich, Sylvia Feketekuty, had left the studio after 15 years.
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.