BioWare's art director reveals eight pieces of decade-old concept art for the earliest version of Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Two Tevinter Mages and a bearded Qunari look over a map of Thedas while barbarian warriors and some manner of ruin are visible in the background.

(Image credit: BioWare, Matt Rhodes)

First reported by GamesRadar, BioWare art director Matt Rhodes has shared the earliest concept art for Dragon Age: The Veilguard to X: "The Everything App." The eight pieces date back to 2014, before Dragon Age: Inquisition was even on store shelves.

"All the way back in 2014, before Dragon Age: Inquisition had even shipped, I started sketching out what cool things might come next," Rhodes wrote. "We had momentum, so these quick mock ups explored where some of the unfinished story threads might lead."

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Chantry figures on the deck of a ship overlook a naval battle and bombardment of a city. — (Image credit: BioWare, Matt Rhodes)

The first four pieces Rhodes posted show scenes of conflict throughout Thedas⁠—my favorite has what seems to be the Chantry's Divine commanding a naval battle from the deck of a ship. A bearded Qunari (maybe an older Iron Bull?) and Tevinter-looking creeps plot over a map in another, while a third shows nobles bowing before the Inquisitor. The fourth shows casteless dwarves walking out into the sunlight of a tent city, covering their eyes and looking up to the sky in fear⁠—possibly their first time on the surface.

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Another batch from Rhodes shows Dailish Elves in forest scenes, with Solas having taken refuge among them. One of them shows the bald jerk summoning an Elven god from the Fade, as happens in the final game.

In a third post, Rhodes shared what he characterizes as his "first real piece of concept art" for what would become The Veilguard. "We knew we were going to Tevinter, so this was the first real attempt to flesh that out," Rhodes explained. You can definitely see a lot of the final game's take on Minrathous in this earliest mock-up.

I really dig these pieces, and I'm pretty happy with the Dragon Age 4 we eventually got, but I felt my heart break at Rhodes saying "we had momentum" regarding the earliest development on what would eventually become The Veilguard⁠—could BioWare have enjoyed a less fraught decade if that momentum hadn't been lost or stymied somewhere along the way? Regardless, I always appreciate getting a peek behind the curtain like this.

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Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.