Recent updates
Update, January 17: Eurogamer has received a statement from Busche, also confirming her departure, which states that she received an offer she "couldn't turn down".
Busche writes: "At the heart of it, this was about my own fulfillment. I did what I set out to do at BioWare. That is to come in and help right the ship. I love Dragon Age, and BioWare, so the chance to return the game to a proper quality single player RPG was the privilege of a lifetime.
"It was hard fought, as games with such tumultuous dev cycles rarely end up shipping, and even more rarely turn out great. We, as a team, did it. And it was hard. It took a toll on me. BioWare still has a lot of work to do culturally, but I do believe they are on the right footing now."
As for that new offer, she says that the "departure was voluntary, as I have been presented with an opportunity I couldn't turn down. I don’t want to say much more right now, but you can count on it being in the CRPG space and upholding the traditions of great characters."
Original story: Dragon Age: The Veilguard's game director, Corinne Busche, is said to be leaving BioWare after almost two decades at the company, according to multiple sources.
The first confirmation comes from journalist Jeff Grubb, who wrote in a post to X that "Corrine Busche, director of Dragon Age, really is leaving BioWare. But I don't think EA is closing BioWare Edmonton. Was told there is nothing solid about that part of the rumor." Eurogamer later confirmed the departure in a report, stating that "BioWare itself is otherwise unaffected by any other changes, contrary to rumour." I've also reached out to BioWare for comment, and I'll update this article if I receive a response.
Busche's departure comes after 18 years at EA—joining the company in 2006, and transferring to BioWare in 2019. She became a game director at the studio in 2022. Interestingly enough, that puts her as becoming game director of The Veilguard (which had one hell of a troubled development) two years after its proper announcement, and one year after it went ahead and ditched the live service stuff. Not a position I'd envy, personally.
Especially given its reception has been all over the shop—the game enjoyed a solid critical reception, but a more withering one from long-time fans. Our own Lauren Morton gave it a 79 in her Dragon Age: The Veilguard review, putting it a solid eight points below what we gave Dragon Age: Inquisition back in 2014 and, as my fellow PC Gamer writer Robin Valentine so nicely summarised, 15 points below both Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 (we know, we know already).
But as has been pointed out on this site before, it's been divisive even among us writers. Some of us think it's fairly decent, while others think it's "bloodless, perfunctory, and broad". I've certainly got complicated feelings about it myself, and an overall withering perspective on its story, which started out bad, got slightly better, and ultimately completely lost me around 64 hours in—and I've felt no compulsion to go back since. For me, it was a decent bit of action RPG fun with a story that bothered me and a world that felt toothless.
Busche leaving BioWare having anything to do with this reception, though, is conjecture at this stage—especially as Eurogamer writes that it "understands The Veilguard's commercial performance was not a direct factor in Busche's departure". In my opinion, Busche leaves behind a game that spent a full decade in the oven, got jerked around, endured multiple departures, and came out a touch bland but also not a complete disaster—whatever she does next, there are far worse legacies to leave behind.
