Electronic Arts was acquired for $55 billion by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. takenOfficially, EA CEO Andrew Wilson speaks of a “new era of opportunities" insuredthat EA's mission and values remain unchanged.
For players and fans, however, this means uncertainty: Will creative studios continue to have the freedom to tell stories outside the mainstream, or is a strong focus on sure-fire cash cows imminent?
Former BioWare author raises alarm
Trick Weekes, a former writer at BioWare, expresses significant concerns. a post on Bluesky He warned that BioWare could come under severe pressure under the new owners. Weekes fears that queer content and political themes will hardly have a place in the future. Instead, shooters, sports games, and franchises are expected to take center stage.
A studio caught in a dilemma
BioWare is already struggling with mixed feedback: Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem and last Dragon Age: The Veilguard They failed to convince all fans. The fact that the focus on queer content is now also seen as problematic exacerbates the uncertainty. Although a new Mass Effect in progress It will likely be years before it is released, and the question remains how much creative freedom BioWare will actually have by then.
The EA acquisition marks a potentially radical turning point for BioWare. Weekes' warnings suggest that the priorities under the new owners could be clearly defined: safe, high-profit games instead of risky, innovative RPGs. Players should pay close attention to which stories BioWare will be allowed to tell in the future, and which will likely be sacrificed for profit.
That's all it's about now.
I played Dragon Age briefly and then uninstalled it. Yes, the developers got my money. But that's it for me. They completely blew an opportunity. I won't be buying any more games from them. If you think you can afford to neglect a large portion of the player base for the sake of a minority, then fine.
Wow, what scoundrels... the new owners want to make a profit and suppress insane/customer-scaring content... I pray that cultural change will take hold in the gaming industry.
Steam has responded. During the current sale, I actually only saw relevant titles, instead of the usual flood of amateurish oddities with a "message".
I hope, however, that things don't swing in the other direction and that people start attacking outsiders. It's enough if we don't turn culture, media, and politics into a complete madhouse and set healthy boundaries.
While other games allow you to change the size and shape of a woman's breasts, such as Conan Exiles, future BioWare games will allow you to adjust the level of concealment worn by the female protagonist, from moderate to barely visible eyes. There will also be a slider to control whether the woman can speak freely or only with the man's permission. And if this woman falls in love with another woman during the story, you can witness the epic ending, including her stoning.
This scenario is (hopefully) exaggerated, but it is very likely that things will go in this direction.
It would actually be a good thing if queer content disappeared from BioWare games! We don't need a hen mayor ^^
In the 90s, “queer content” mostly consisted of empathetic films that told interpersonal stories.
Today I don't even know what "queer" is supposed to mean anymore. A pop-cultural trend? A secret religion? Nihilism in rainbow colors?
Therefore, this kind of “queer” – the cutely packaged malice, the glorified dilettantism, the tendency towards distortion and misrepresentation, the snarling activism, the subversive culture war, the institutionalized pseudo-counterculture – can gladly go.
And if I'm observing this correctly, that would certainly be in the interest of people with alternative lifestyles, for whom this circus has ultimately done more harm than good anyway.
Great, then hopefully the next Mass Effect will be a hit, I'm excited.
Great, then we can finally have another good Dragon Age.
I'm looking forward to that.
Dragon Age Origins already had queer themes, I'm sorry to have to tell you that.
Yes, it did. But it wasn't constantly shoved in your face in a lecturing way.
"Queer themes." There were bisexual characters. That wasn't the focus of the game, just like the extremely unpleasant conversation with Taash and his mother. The acquisition offers renewed hope for good games.