‘Dragon Age: Inquisition’ Celebrates Its First Anniversary As BioWare Looks To The Future With ‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’

One year ago this week, BioWare launched the third installment of their popular role-playing series, Dragon Age: Inquisition. The game was originally intended to come out in 2013, but was delayed until this past holiday season to give the developer more time to squeeze additional features into the game such as the ability to play as a multitude of different fantasy races.

Alongside the announcement that the game turned one-year-old on Wednesday, BioWare also took a brief moment to thank fans for their continued support of Dragon Age: Inquisition over the past year. The developer showed their gratitude by posting an appreciative note to fans on the title’s official Twitter account.

“One year ago today, we all banded together to face the Breach. Thank You!”

BioWare later added a second tweet that jokingly showed an anniversary celebration for Dragon Age: Inquisition that featured a physical copy of the game box wearing a birthday hat in front of confetti and a birthday cupcake. The scene was completed with official props, including plush toys from Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Happy first birthday, Inquisition. What do you get for the game that has everything? More elfroot. pic.twitter.com/A98kHXBQCC

— BioWare (@bioware) November 18, 2015

Aaryn Flynn, general manager for BioWare’s Edmonton and Montreal studios, also later shared his thoughts on the one-year anniversary since Dragon Age: Inquisition landed on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC as well as last-gen consoles. Flynn took a moment to congratulate the team responsible for creating Inquisition as he thought back on the challenges they faced while developing the game.

Can’t believe it’s been a year since we released Dragon Age: Inquisition. I’m so proud of the team for what they overcame and accomplished! — Aaryn Flynn (@AarynFlynn) November 19, 2015

However, BioWare’s studio manager also revealed that the developer isn’t simply taking a break now that all planned content for Dragon Age: Inquisition has been released. Since he oversees every one of BioWare’s teams located in Montreal and Edmonton, Flynn is currently busy watching over the creation of Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Two entirely different teams work on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises for BioWare, so development of the next Mass Effect game actually began while Inquisition was still being made. However, now that all DLC has been released for Dragon Age: Inquisition, Flynn admitted that he now has his sights set on space as the studio fully ramps up their work on Mass Effect: Andromeda.

I’ve got a lot of #DAIMemories, but it’s back to #space for me (and beyond…)

— Aaryn Flynn (@AarynFlynn) November 19, 2015

Unlike Dragon Age: Inquisition, fans won’t be able to select a different race for the main character in the next Mass Effect game. Despite the fact that the sci-fi series is full of various alien races, users will once again be limited to only playing as a human protagonist just as they had been in the franchise’s first three installments.

Without giving away too many details about the plot of Mass Effect: Andromeda, BioWare claims that the game will feature a human lead for a very specific reason central to the game’s overall narrative. The Inquisitr revealed earlier this month that the developer specified that they didn’t want to allow multiple playable races because the story will be distinctively “human.”

The next Mass Effect game will, however, borrow a different element from the Dragon Age franchise. In every entry of the Mass Effect series to date, players have taken control of Commander Shepard. In comparison, each Dragon Age installment has introduced a new protagonist. With Andromeda, BioWare is trying a similar approach for Mass Effect by creating a new lead character for the game. Since this is a big change for fans to adjust to, Mass Effect producer Mike Gamble is asking players to keep an open mind about the new protagonist until they get a chance to try out the game for themselves.

Are you still playing Dragon Age: Inquisition one year after its launch, or are you now simply waiting for the release of the upcoming Mass Effect game?

[Image via Dragon Age]