Dragon Age Star 'Devastated' by Backlash, Claims BioWare's Critics Wanted Failure

Alix Wilton Regan, known for her role as the Female Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, has shared her personal thoughts on the backlash faced by last year’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard. She attributed the "mixed reactions" to a vocal group of individuals who seemingly "wanted to see the game fail, or wanted to see [BioWare] fail."

In a recent interview with IGN, Wilton Regan expressed that she was "absolutely devastated" to witness The Veilguard struggle to reach a broader audience, especially given its generally positive critical reception. During the same conversation—where she reflected on her many iconic video game roles, including her part in Microsoft's upcoming Perfect Dark reboot—Wilton Regan stated that while she cherished her time portraying the Inquisitor, she didn’t believe the character would make a return.

"I feel absolutely devastated for BioWare as a studio that they got such mixed reactions to the game," Wilton Regan said regarding the response to The Veilguard. "I personally thought it was a really strong game. I thought it was just BioWare being more BioWare."

She went on to suggest that some people may have had preconceived negative opinions toward the game. "I also think a lot of people kind of wanted to see it fail, or wanted to see [BioWare] fail, either because they're just really bad people on the internet — of which there are unfortunately many, as we have discovered."

Upon release, The Veilguard faced intense scrutiny online. Much of the criticism centered around accusations of the game being "woke," particularly due to the inclusion of a non-binary companion character and the option for players to choose a transgender protagonist. On Steam, Dragon Age: The Veilguard now holds a 'Mixed' player rating, with user-defined tags associating the game with "LGBTQ+" and "politics."

"People were attacking the game before it was released," Wilton Regan added. "It's ridiculous. How can you judge a game, a book, a film, a TV show before it's actually released? You can't. It's an idiotic stance to take."

In January, EA reported that The Veilguard had "underperformed" compared to expectations by approximately 50%, coming just days after the game’s director, Corrine Busche, announced her departure from the company. Several other team members involved in the project were also laid off.

Additionally, in the same month, BioWare confirmed that The Veilguard had received its final update, with no further content currently planned or expected.

"I only ever want to see the folks from BioWare thrive, because I adore them," Wilton Regan concluded. "And whatever they go on to do next, I have no doubt their talents will be richly rewarded. We're really lucky we'll get more gold from them in the future."

Currently, a smaller BioWare team is working on Mass Effect 5, which does not yet have an official release date.