Former Dragon Age: Dreadwolf boss is making a new game for the publisher of D&D and Magic: The Gathering

(Image credit: Skeleton Key)

Former Dragon Age 4 executive producer Christian Dailey, who left BioWare in February, has joined D&D and Magic: The Gathering publisher Wizards of the Coast to head up a new game studio called Skeleton Key.

Dailey's career in the games industry goes back more than 30 years, from a testing credit on Might and Magic: Dark Side of Xeen through Lords of Everquest, The Last Airbender, multiple Blizzard games, and BioWare's ill-fated shooter Anthem. He took over as executive producer of Dragon Age: Dreadworld in December 2020, following the surprise departure of Mark Darrah.

Very excited to announce that we've started a new AAA game studio with the amazing folks at @Hasbro and @Wizards of the Coast!It's early days right now at @SkeletonKeyDev but looking forward to sharing more soon. Please keep a lookout and check our open roles! https://t.co/GJUmEDMvrkJuly 26, 2022

"I am excited to be starting this new adventure with the company that has created so many of my favorite toys and games growing up," Dailey said in a statement. "Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast have been a huge influence on me, their brands have inspired my pursuit of a lifelong career in videogames. We are looking forward to growing our studio team with more talented creators who share our passion."

Dailey didn't reveal what the studio will be working on, but it will apparently be something in the horror (or horror-adjacent) genre: The Skeleton Key website says its mission "is to create immersive gameplay, unique stories, and thought-provoking moments of suspense and horror that guide players to have fun while facing their fears." There's also a little skull in the Skeleton Key logo, which is pretty well on-point, and if you mouseover it for a few seconds the keyhole also turns into a skull. Scary stuff!

Skeleton Key is now hiring for some high-level positions including art director, senior producer, design director, cinematics director, and principal engineer. If you're curious about what they'll be getting up to but don't feel like pursuing a leadership career in the games industry yourself, you can also follow along with Skeleton Key on Twitter.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.