Yes, you will be able to carry over your decisions from previous Dragon Age games into The Veilguard — it’ll just work a little differently this time.
In an interview with IGN, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Game Director Corinne Busche says the ability to import your choices is “fully integrated into the character creator this time around.” What’s more, Busche confirmed that you’ll be able to customize your Inquisitor if you want to remake your protagonist from Dragon Age: Inquisition.
“What’s not lost on us is that it’s been 10 years since existing players have played. They might not remember [what they did in previous games],” Busche explains. “They might need that refresher and we don’t want new players to feel like they’re missing out on those decisions. So in the character creator, I like to call it last time on Dragon Age, but you can go into your past adventures and it, actually through tarot cards, tells you what the context was and what decision you want to make.”
When pressed further about if all the previous characters would be woven into The Veilguard, like Hawke, Busch says, “I won’t say everybody, but yes, some of them.”
What it sounds like is that BioWare may be abandoning Dragon Age Keep, which would allow you to export your world state from previous Dragon Age games into Inquisition through your save files. When asked if The Veilguard would read saves from Dragon Age Origins, Dragon Age II, or Dragon Age: Inquisition, Busche confirmed that it wouldn’t.
“The technology is so different and we wanted it to be in the client,” she says.
“What’s not lost on us is that it’s been 10 years since existing players have played.
Indeed, Busche also confirms that The Veilguard players won’t have to link to their accounts for this option, as you’ll be able to play the game fully offline. And, yes, it’s a single-player game and has no microtransactions.
It’s only the latest in a trove of information we’ve gotten about Dragon Age: The Veilguard lately, in addition to its extended gameplay showcase today. BioWare recently showed off the seven companions in its Xbox Showcase trailer, and before that, it officially announced that it’s changing its name from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Dragon Age: The Veilguard will release sometime this Fall.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.