Bioware has confirmed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will not be open-world, but "mission-based".
Speaking to IGN during Summer Game Fest 2024, director Corinne Busche was able to clarify that the new locations players will be able to explore in The Veilguard are more linear than those of Dragon Age: Inquisition.
She explains that this decision was made to allow for a better narrative experience, but said that some areas do open up to the player and allow for exploration.
"Yeah, so it is a mission-based game," Busche said. "Everything is hand-touched, hand-crafted, very highly curated. We believe that's how we get the best narrative experience, the best moment-to-moment experience.
"However, along the way, these levels that we go to do open up, some of them have more exploration than others. Alternate branching paths, mysteries, secrets, optional content you're going to find and solve. So it does open up, but it is a mission-based, highly curated game."
In terms of what this means for completing side quests in the world of Thedas, Busche explained that some are highly curated, "especially when it involves the motivations and the experiences of the companions."
"You're really along on this journey with them," the director continued. "Others, you're investigating a missing family… and the entirety of this bog is open up to you. You're searching for clues, finding a way to solve their disappearance. So really it's not a one-size-fits-all solution. But I do want to emphasize that hand-crafted and curated is our approach."
Dragon Age fans were recently treated to the first official look at the next major entry in BioWare's fantasy role-playing franchise with an extended gameplay demo.
In the 20-minute walkthrough, players were introduced to all manner of features, including a lovely new art style, a unique cast of companions, an updated combat system, as well as a glimpse into new locations.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard doesn't have a release date just yet, but it's expected to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC in "late 2024".
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