Dragon Age Inquisition ‘Massively’ Oversold Internal EA Projections, Ex-BioWare Dev Reveals

Dragon Age Inquisition was far from a commercial failure, a former BioWare developer has insisted while revealing an updated sales figure for the game.

Fantasy action role-playing game Dragon Age Inquisition launched in 2014 to critical and commercial success, enjoying the biggest launch in Bioware history based on units sold. IGN's Dragon Age Inquisition review returned an 8.8/10. We said: "Dragon Age: Inquisition doesn't spin a great tale, but it brings the series closer to its roots with deep RPG systems."

Now, 10 years later, former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, who left BioWare in 2020, has revealed that Inquisition has sold over 12 million copies, and “massively” oversold EA’s internal projections for the game.

Yeah I'm not sure where "DAI was a commercial failure" came from...
Its over 12 million at this point.
MASIVELY oversold the internal EA projections
...
Oh yeah and was GotY in 2014.— Mark Darrah (@BioMarkDarrah) September 17, 2024

Why would Darrah say this now? The ex-BioWare staffer took to social media to counter claims from one user that Inquisition was a “commercial failure.” That comment emerged from a social media conversation about the Dragon Age series apparently losing its “super serious and grimdark” tone following the release of the first game in the series, 2009’s much-loved Origins.

That feeling is fueled by an ongoing debate about Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s stylized look and action-oriented gameplay, which in truth the series has been pointing towards ever since Dragon Age 2 came out in 2011. The long and short of it is that some Dragon Age fans long for the bloodier, darker cRPG-styled Origins, while The Veilguard is more the natural evolution of Inquisition, a game that had already left Origins behind in gameplay and art style terms and, as Darrah has explained, enjoyed enormous commercial success in doing so.

The Veilguard launches a decade after Inquisition, and IGN’s exclusive Dragon Age: The Veilguard hands-on preview offers a really helpful look at what to expect from the game.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.