Dragon Age: Inquisition PS3 Servers Shut Down

EA is following the shutdown of Anthem with a significant move that sees BioWare's beloved title, Dragon Age: Inquisition, lose its PlayStation 3 multiplayer servers later this month. A recent message on EA's service update website confirms that these specific PS3 servers will go dark on April 28, more than 11 years after the game first arrived in 2014. While it is disheartening to see any older title lose functionality, Dragon Age: Inquisition's PS3 multiplayer mode has surprisingly lasted through two console generations and even survived the rise and fall of BioWare's ambitious live-service attempt, Anthem. Despite this closure, servers for the game will remain online on PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox for now, allowing players on newer platforms to continue their campaigns.

Fans still look back fondly on Dragon Age: Inquisition as the entry where they met their favorite elven frenemy Solas, formed deep bonds with Iron Bull, and spent far too much time exploring the Hinterlands. It remains BioWare's best-selling game to date, a sprawling fantasy RPG threequel that defined an era for the studio.

The Rise and Fall of Dragon Age Multiplayer

Although multiplayer was never the primary focus of this massive RPG, BioWare was eager to experiment with a similar offering following the success of Mass Effect 3's cooperative multiplayer portion. This mode offered players various races and classes to tackle enemies from the game's campaign in another PvE affair, supported for a time with new maps and loadouts. However, unlike its predecessor, this idea never truly took off as a staple feature:

  • The mode failed to match the longevity of Mass Effect 3's multiplayer component.
  • It saw no return in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which launched as a fully single-player experience after previously being teased as a live-service game.
  • BioWare has seemingly moved on from this specific design philosophy, leaving the PS3 servers as one of the last remnants of that experimental era.

Is BioWare Moving Away from Multiplayer?

Dragon Age: Inquisition's server closure raises questions about whether BioWare is done with multiplayer gaming for good, especially after the commercial failure of Anthem. While the company is known to be working on Mass Effect 5, a release date for which remains unknown, there has been no mention of another multiplayer offering in development. Indeed, following EA's recent cuts designed to slim down the studio, anything not critical to ensuring the future of the Mass Effect franchise seems unlikely to come to fruition soon.

Amazon's Mass Effect Series on the Brink

Speaking of the franchise's future, reports earlier this month suggest that Amazon's live-action Mass Effect TV series is now on "the verge" of a formal series order. However, sources indicate that the boss of Amazon TV has allegedly requested rewrites to make the project "more appealing to non-gamers," potentially shifting the tone away from its core roots.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor.