After a seemingly strong launch for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, there are likely a few newcomers to the series who are considering diving into the original trilogy. But whoever hopes for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Style Remaster they should not hold their breath; Dragon Age: Veilguard creative director John Epler says the project would be a challenge because almost no one at BioWare knows how the studio’s old engine works.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was well received when it launched in 2021, introducing improved performance and visuals, improved models, new lighting, gameplay tweaks and much more. It was a welcome refinement of a classic trilogy, and the type of treatment that most would probably agree with BioWare’s other beloved series.

However, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone (THANKS PC gamer), Dragon Age: The Veilgaurd creative director John Epler – who has been with BioWare since Dragon Age’s original release in 2009 – noted that while he would like to see the trilogy get the remastered treatment, it would be a challenge in due to the games’ proprietary engines.

Unlike the Mass effect trilogy, which was developed in Unreal Engine 3, Dragon Age Inquisition was built using EA’s Frostbite engine, while Dragon Age 1 and 2, more problematically, were built using the engine BioWare Eclipse. “I think I’m one of about 20 people at BioWare who have actually used Eclipse,” Epler said. “(Remastering Dragon Age is) something that won’t be as simple as Mass Effect, but we love the original games.”

But there may be some small hope for Dragon Age fans, given that Epler hasn’t completely given up on the idea. “Never say never,” he added, “I guess that’s what it comes down to.”

Of course, EA’s interest in giving Dragon Age the Legendary Edition treatment – and indeed its continued interest in the series as a whole – will likely depend on the success of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which seems to be off to a good start when it launched last week. The publisher has yet to announce official numbers, but The Veilguard managed an all-time peak of 89,418 concurrent players on Steam, setting a new record for a single-player EA game.

What this means for the future of The Veilguard is unclear, but ahead of launch, Epler said that BioWare’s “entire focus… has been entirely on the next Mass Effect,” which means that he had no DLC plansbeyond “quality of life improvements and a handful of small content updates.”

Regardless of what happens next, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a treat. “What BioWare has managed to accomplish here, despite all the pressure it has faced since Dragon Age: Inquisition came out 10 years ago, it’s extraordinary,” wrote Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese in his five star review. “The Veilguard is superbly realized and full of sophistication across the systems and storytelling. It’s warm and welcoming, funny and hopeful, sweet when it needs to be, and of course it’s epic – epic in a way way that I think will set the bar high not only for BioWare in the years to come but for role-playing games in general, it’s one of the best of them.