What to Expect From Dragon Age: Dreadwolf in 2024

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf was first revealed nearly six years ago at The Game Awards 2018, as a then-untitled announcement. It understandably came too soon, while there were a few behind-the-scenes issues at BioWare that ultimately led to the original Dragon Age 4 project, codenamed Joplin, being scrapped and replaced with its current iteration, codename Morrison. In other words, it’s been a long road, and time and again, BioWare has asked for patience. Luckily, Dragon Age Day gave fans some important details about the future. It might not be here quite yet, but fans have a lot to look forward to this year.

2024 will easily be the biggest year for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf thus far. Since Morrison entered development, fans have been treated to concept art, a few teaser trailers, and a lot of Solas teases, but Dragon Age Day came with two big pieces of information. The first is that, alongside the previously confirmed Tevinter, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will take place in three other countries. Its total of four countries doubles that of Dragon Age: Inquisition, good or ill. The second is that more news, including its release date, is coming in summer 2024.

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Will Have A Lot to Show in Summer 2024

Alongside Dragon Age: Dreadwolf‘s recent Thedas Calls trailer, BioWare published a blog post that promised more content was coming in Summer 2024. Specifically, BioWare said it would fully reveal the game and release “new trailers, gameplay, and—of course—the long-awaited release date.” Having a confirmed timing on this information isn’t as good as getting the information, but it does mean fans can manage their expectations for the new year. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will likely be quiet for the first few months of the year, but fans can expect a lot of activity to pick up between June and September 2024.

• Trailers (Confirmed)
• Gameplay (Confirmed)
• Release Date (Confirmed)
• Companions (Reasonably)

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Full Reveal at Summer Game Fest 2024?

While BioWare may find some appeal in doing a big blowout on its own focused entirely on the game, hearing “full reveal” and “summer 2024” brings the mind directly to Summer Game Fest 2024. Geoff Keighley’s stage may be the best place to kick this off in June, showing a Dragon Age: Dreadwolf story trailer that shows players the more minute details of the story and Solas’ involvement. The first trailer will likely show a bit of gameplay, but instead focus on the story and characters of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf first. Fans are going to be ravenous for details about the companions, after all. A gameplay trailer, whenever it comes, will be the second big hurdle for the game.

According to leaked videos of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, the game is taking a more action-RPG approach to the game than prior titles. The Dragon Age franchise has never had consistent combat, so this shouldn’t be a surprise to fans. But videos showed a UI equipment screen that used the Destiny model that has found itself in a lot of modern RPGs, while the combat seemed more God of War-like (though still companion-based). Ultimately, it remains to be seen and this Dragon Age: Dreadwolf leak should be taken with a grain of salt, but story and gameplay will likely lead the pack.

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Companions Will Likely Have Their Time in the Sun

Companions are a key feature in BioWare games, and depending on the length of the marketing, fans can expect something special from them. Right now, it would seem that the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf companions could be composed of the following:

Based on the above art, it seems there will likely be either 7 or 8 companions, depending on if one of those figures is meant to be the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf protagonist. While the 3/3/3 mage/warrior/rogue split of Dragon Age: Inquisition could be missed, assuming this is the case, it’s worth reiterating that the action RPG approach may have changed this significantly.

No matter what, fans can expect a focus on the companions alongside general gameplay and story details to come this summer.

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s Release Date is Currently a Coin Toss

The big question for many diehard fans is when it’s coming out. Knowing Dragon Age: Dreadwolf‘s release date will be huge for fans who have waited six years, and there seems to be two distinct possibilities here. Fans can’t rely on the reveal and release patterns of past Dragon Age games because six years passed between the announcement and the full reveal to begin with. But the first is that this is going to be a traditional full reveal, suggesting the release date could likely fall into early 2025 if not later. This means a more elongated marketing pattern too, though fans should expect a lot up front given BioWare is aware of how long fans have waited for concrete information.

The second option is that this is a shorter marketing period. Revealing a game in the summer to release it later in that year used to be the most common marketing and release pattern in the industry, and because of its nature, it’s entirely plausible it happens here. In fact, November 2024 would be Dragon Age: Dreadwolf‘s best release window. Not only would it be the 10-year anniversary of Dragon Age: Inquisition, but it would be the franchise’s 15th anniversary with Dragon Age: Origins. These games were released in November 2014 and November 2009, respectively, and the appeal of this release window has to be immense for BioWare.

The most important thing for BioWare and fans, however, is to exercise extreme patience. Feeling pressured to put out the best Dragon Age game in a franchise defined by great games would not be beneficial for BioWare or its developers, nor would rushing work out well for anyone. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will release when it’s ready and shouldn’t be a day sooner, and if that means a delay of BioWare’s plans, release or reveal-wise, then so be it. Dragon Age deserves the best game BioWare can make, Dragon Age fans deserve the best game BioWare can make, and ultimately patience is the virtue that can manifest this reality.