Dragon Age, new LOTR game due by April '09

EA reveals BioWare's long-in-development fantasy RPG, mystery Tolkien/Jackson-inspired title will arrive before the company's next fiscal year ends.

Buried in the passel of information in yesterday's Electronic Arts earnings announcement were two major news items for gamers with a penchant for fantasy. The first concerned Dragon Age, the all-new PC fantasy role-playing game announced in 2004 by BioWare, developer of Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The following year, the famed Canadian studio announced Mass Effect, its Xbox 360-exclusive sci-fi RPG that was released last year to rave reviews.

But while the platinum-selling Mass Effect has been at the center of BioWare's PR efforts, Dragon Age has been largely invisible since a series of showings in 2004. Then, late last year, BioWare cofounders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk said it was already playable, albeit in limited form. Luckily, yesterday's EA post-earnings call by BioWare's new owner confirmed the game remains on track, and will arrive sometime during its next fiscal year, which begins on April 1, 2008.

The EA call also brought welcome news for gamers who prefer more established pantheons of wizards, trolls, and orcs. As negotiations for the film version of The Hobbit drag on, the filmed version of the Lord of the Rings may be getting yet another game spin-off. Ten months after EA renewed its game license for the Rings films and 11 months after it put the open-world RPG The White Council on indefinite ice, CEO John Riccitello told analysts another game based on Peter Jackson's interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy world is en route. The unidentified title is set for release sometime in EA's 2009 fiscal year, although it is unclear if it is an all-new title or The White Council.

172 Comments

  • maxl16

    Posted Mar 16, 2009 4:31 pm PT

    HAs THere been any news on the white council because all igns and other news is from a year or 2 ago?

  • GodDemon

    Posted Feb 17, 2009 1:12 pm PT

    It won't be the white council, although that would be cool, I believe this game is something else.

    Oh well........But then again it may be. It must be something like the white council and it'll be something not to do with the movie.

    At least that's what I think.

  • BenBenBen93

    Posted Jan 24, 2009 1:35 pm PT

    Bioware didn't make Conquest you noobs or shall i say nobs. Its a New game and probably not white council because either give it a year in development for and open ended RPG it take Bethesda like 3 year to make and that is at least 3 years probably 4-5

  • alexkn64

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 10:14 pm PT

    Take it for what it's worth, but IGN has labeled it as canceled. I'm with you thought, I've wanted an opened ended RPG, ala the kind of RPG's Bioware is known for since I saw the first movie. It's a real heartbreak how this game was put on indefinite hiatus.

  • Artemios

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 10:35 am PT

    same question here..were they talking about conquest? or is White Council really gonna come out this year! Oh, I do hope it does!

    It's been what? 2, 3 years?

  • qwertyuopasdfgh

    Posted Jan 14, 2009 1:20 pm PT

    is the game coming out before april 09 going to be the white council or were they talking about conquest?

  • masterfarticus

    Posted Jan 11, 2009 12:12 pm PT

    I want The White Council so bad...

  • MandoWolf

    Posted Sep 28, 2008 7:56 pm PT

    What is it about? Sounds cool.

  • DanzigThrall

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 11:37 am PT

    hopefully the white council doesnt get cancelled like Marvel Online did

  • WakingZangetsu

    Posted Aug 27, 2008 11:55 pm PT

    i think it keeps getting put off but i dont think its cancelled yet. so whoo hoo cant wait

  • devil-neva-cry

    Posted Aug 26, 2008 1:48 am PT

    i heard that this game is cancalled............ hope thats just sum bullsh*t rumour

  • VXCOM

    Posted Jul 29, 2008 9:55 pm PT

    i hoped all of this gonna workout......and the games will be playable...and high hopes for The White Council....and EA-BioWare gonna make it happens...

  • drand24

    Posted Jul 28, 2008 2:01 pm PT

    *crosses fingers for the White Council*

  • tmacfan532

    Posted Jul 1, 2008 7:47 pm PT

    I think the Lotr game they're talking about is Conquest. But hopefully TWC is still in production.

  • division_9

    Posted Jun 21, 2008 7:42 am PT

    BioWare? dammit I had high hopes for this game. I wonder how much gamespot was payed to rank mass effect the best game on PC. II'll still buy White council since BioWare would be stupid to turn lord of the rings some sort of semi-nerd fantasy realm where everygirl has the biggest boobs in the galaxy and theres some secret subplot where you make love with a alien.

  • rammsteingamer

    Posted Jun 6, 2008 4:54 am PT

    BIOWARE leading this role-playing project ??? IT HAS GOT TO BE GREAT, these guys are just amazing, i´m really looking forward to see this game !!! Heads up

  • Septim007

    Posted May 17, 2008 11:50 am PT

    I desperately want The White Council to be made. Being a huge Lord of The Rings fan, that would be a dream come true. Seriously, don't they realise how much this would appeal to Tolkien fans and RPG lovers?
    MUST...HAVE...WHITE COUNCIL!!!!!(convulsive seizure)

  • Saerain

    Posted Apr 24, 2008 11:20 am PT

    Seeing that it is being developed by Pandemic, I strongly doubt that it is The White Council.

  • i_inferno

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 4:40 am PT

    I hope that it is LotR: TWC, it would be my wet dream. A LotR RPG to my home gaming console .
    Due to the short production time-line I think it is. To create a game from scratch in 10 months sounds very unlikely...

  • maggamuffin

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 8:18 pm PT

    it seems like they scrapped the people working on it but they will have the same idea behind it.

  • Killmajoro

    Posted Mar 6, 2008 2:28 pm PT

    Hope it does'nt suck!

  • o_laggy_o

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 1:56 pm PT

    A new Lord of the Rings game FTW!

  • Gen_Coleman

    Posted Feb 28, 2008 1:31 pm PT

    Well recently Lucas Arts revoked the license from SOE for SWG. LA has since handed over all rights to SWG to BioWare. It is possible that BioWare will take SWG and start over like SOE should have done years ago. SOE has already stopped making the pre-paid cards for SWG. If BioWare can put in SWG what they have managed to do for all of ther RPG's then I am going to become a SWG nut once again.

  • Smoolander

    Posted Feb 26, 2008 9:56 am PT

    EA Philosophy:

    Buy License
    Flog license to death

  • Nintendo_Ownes7

    Posted Feb 13, 2008 12:00 pm PT

    RE-Timstuff
    "Dear EA:

    HAVE BIOWARE MAKE THE NEW LORD OF THE RINGS GAME!"

    Pandemic is making the Lord of the Rings game.

  • Rowr14

    Posted Feb 10, 2008 3:11 pm PT

    so whats that? 3 more bioware rpg's, plus downloadable content, all within the next 3-4 years?

    Thats Awesome.

    And an MMO?
    I dont play mmo's as a rule, but depending on what this is i dont think i will be able to avoid getting sucked in.

  • mechworrior762

    Posted Feb 10, 2008 12:18 pm PT

    nikej: My thoughts exactly! RPG+4 years+Bioware==FTW

  • nikej

    Posted Feb 8, 2008 6:51 am PT

    If a RPG game is made for more then 4 years then it can only be a good one.
    If a RPG game is made for more then 4 years by Bioware then ...

  • placksheep

    Posted Feb 6, 2008 8:54 pm PT

    If Bioware even just makes Dragon Age essentially Baldur's Gate III, they will sell 1 million copies. How about an X-box 360 version though! :-)

  • marktime2007

    Posted Feb 6, 2008 8:51 am PT

    I want Dragon Age to come out so badly.

  • LoqGor

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 1:10 pm PT

    Morrowind theory, Oblvion Combat...LOTR setting please

  • imnodewd

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 9:22 pm PT

    I would definitely like to see White Council become a reality. It looked like the developers were really onto something and I was sincerely disappointed when the project was put "on hold." So far, none of the other LOTR games have really delivered for me.

  • ROUNDHOUSE87

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 8:40 pm PT

    YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

  • cterry04

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 8:18 pm PT

    "Bring back White Council! That had so much promise!"
    I agree

  • Deathscyth-Hell

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 5:56 pm PT

    Bring back White Council! That had so much promise!

  • halosniper52

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 4:45 pm PT

    RE-Timstuff
    'Dear EA:
    HAVE BIOWARE MAKE THE NEW LORD OF THE RINGS GAME!'

    yes PLZZZzzzZZZ!!!!

  • Timstuff

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 11:42 am PT

    Dear EA:

    HAVE BIOWARE MAKE THE NEW LORD OF THE RINGS GAME!

  • Sokol4ever

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 10:30 am PT

    I'm definitely hopping for another Kotor game, just not MMO.

  • somberfox

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:43 am PT

    "Bioware may very well be making KotOR 3 because they just hooked up with LucasArts to make another (as of now unnamed) game."

    Of course that could also mean that Bioware is making a Indiana Jones RPG or something. Man that would be awesome. It would make sense too since the fourth Jones movie is coming up pretty soon.

  • BringTheBlood

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:30 am PT

    basically, it better not suck, thats all i got to say.

  • EXODYS

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 4:15 am PT

    Interesting news, I am really looking forward to Dragon Age, but could we please soon have Mass Effect for PC???

  • lightwarrior179

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 12:53 am PT

    It's interesting how BioWare handle Dragon Age since it has long been into production along with Jade Empire and Mass Effect.

  • FatalFist

    Posted Feb 3, 2008 11:47 pm PT

    no way dude....i think bioware always handles game far better then Bethesda....BIOWARE RULEZ

  • ping5000

    Posted Feb 3, 2008 10:45 pm PT

    I'd rather have Obsidian handle the next Knights game. They've proven themselves as highly capable with Mask of the Betrayer.

  • BigDaddy973

    Posted Feb 3, 2008 10:14 pm PT

    Consoles?

  • 7_armageddon_7

    Posted Feb 3, 2008 6:44 pm PT

    I was really looking forward to the White Council; I really hope they finish it.

  • RangerG

    Posted Feb 3, 2008 6:29 pm PT

    YES! News on the White Council. Finally!

  • GunGriffin

    Posted Feb 3, 2008 3:06 pm PT

    Nah Bioware needs to make another Mass Effect game or give us some download content, and new achievments! It's a killer game but I have beat it twice now. I guss I need to start doing all the secondary missions, and side quests. I wonder how much there is to the game? The main story is so much fun. But the side stories can get boring. I just hope I can sit through another play through and get it all 100% beat this time.

    Still some more planets to land on, as well as some new monsters to fight would rock! Like maybe another human colony thats a nice green planet with a massive city scape? Maybe Mars that we can go to and play a new side story that pits the geth trying to sneak into earth space?, or maybe a few space stations we can dock at and buy things, as well as do more side quests and go to more planets? I love Mass Effect but was kinda sad that the game only gives you a peace of the universe in the game, I want see and talk to the other races and go to their home worlds. It would rock so hard!

  • dannyatkinson

    Posted Feb 3, 2008 2:02 pm PT

    I know that I will be pissed if Kotor 3 is yet another stupid MMO.
    I am so sick of those things. Can you say money grab.

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