Dragon Age 4 Setting Confirmed To Be Tevinter

The next Dragon Age game will take place in Tevinter, according to an official BioWare game development book. For fans of the series, the new setting suggests a lot about the story and conflicts that will be front-and-center in the anticipated sequel.

Eurogamer reports that the setting was confirmed in the book BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 24 Years of Game Development. This follows a hint that came at the end of Dragon Age Inquisition's Trespasser expansion, and will finally make good on a setting we've previously only heard about secondhand.

The Tevinter Imperium is a human nation ruled by a council of mages. The council of magisters is led by the Imperial Archon. Tevinter has also been described as a rich, decadent nation that kept a tight rule on its people, including by use of blood magic. Given that plenty of Dragon Age stories have revolved around tensions between magic-users and non-magic folk, it's sure to be a rich vein for intrigue.

The report also notes that while Tevinter looks to be the primary setting, concept art in the book implies that you'll travel to surrounding areas as well. Some of those include Antiva City, the Mourn Watch in a Necropolis likely to be in Nevarra, and the treasure hunters guild based in Rivain.

The next Dragon Age, which is still officially untitled and may not actually be called "Dragon Age 4," still appears to be far from release. EA and BioWare haven't even given a release window, including in a debut trailer shown in December. At the same Game Awards event, BioWare showed a trailer for the next Mass Effect game, which is also undated.