When Will DA4 be released?/ Bioware's release strategy.

Marketing: Game Awards Dec 2023
Early 2024: Drip or nothing
Late 2024: Heavy marketing, hopefully release
Early 2025: Latest I currently imagine the game will release

DA5, if it happens, will then not happen in the 2020s. It'll be next gen ('PS6') in the 2030s. Bioware will only release DA4 and ME5, maybe contract out some lesser/side/mobile games. But they'll aim to get plenty enough sales to inspire hope from EA highers, investors, consumers.
DA5 however may try to be the end of an arc, more or less. Like, they can't fully end Blight and City etc stuff in just DA4, I'm nearly certain, but I have the vague feeling that BW will want some conclusion on the initial 'Dragon Age' sooner than later. DA4 may restructure what the series is, and DA5 provide something of an ending, so a DA6 (2030s?) might be able to focus on further boundaries of the setting. In the meanwhile, of course the lore will continue to expand in other ways. They might also want to be open to an online service game in the 2030s too, to coincide with the end off the old and into the new. I really just see DA4 as being as much of a new proposal for the franchise, as it is a conclusion to DAI setups. If people bite, then maybe multiple projects can come later.

Lets see how wrong I get, because previously I only imagined DA4 would be 2023 at the very latest, I think I recall

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It is so long ago I find it hard to remember if I did pre-order DAI but I probably did because I know it was delivered by Amazon on the day of release. My enthusiasm was based on the trailers and content shown at gaming events as much as the fact it was the next game set in Thedas. I was disappointed that some of what had been shown in that Alpha footage from 2013 didn't make it into the final game and the fact that there were bugs in the initial release that I felt should have been picked up during testing. Overall, though, I was glad I was able to play it as soon as it came out.

I never played Andromeda because my PC wasn't up to the minimum requirements and at the time I was holding out for details on what would be required for DA4 before committing to replacing it. This was disappointing because I had enjoyed the ME trilogy and the trailers for Andromeda had looked promising. However, I was aware of the criticism on line after it was released and a friend at work, who had played it, commented that I had been done a favour by my inadequate computer.

My main misgivings going forward is that the latest Star Wars Jedi game from EA was apparently almost unplayable on PC when it first came out. I said at the time that this made me worried about DA:D. So, I may hold off initially to see what the reviews are like for playing on PC as I feel if there is one thing worse than having to wait to play the game, it is finding it is unplayable when you do finally get your copy.

It really does seem that Bioware needs someone who can really crack the whip as the creatives tend to go off on tangents before finishing something or starting everything from scratch.

and yet so few of them manage to. And by few I mean probably no one.

probably a moot point considering but this does speak to the internal debate I was having between being a good RPG versus a good video game in total.

Still best games and games that happen to be RPGS from the last two generations were Inquisition and Andromeda.

Dbl post

to each their own and I can recognize a few things.

Witcher 3 was a revolutionary and technical marvel...but was also a terrible RPG with a few other things holding it back.

Skyrim is probably the most boring game I've ever played and never quite finished it. Still dumped 200 hours into it.

BG 3 technical marvel, gaming throwback, really like some of the things that Larian is doing from a consumer perspective...but aside from the gameplay issues I also get the feeling it's doing some of those *other* things that bugged me in the witcher.

DAO had its moments but was a real slog to get through.

I like DAI more than both Skyrim and Witcher 3, from what I've played of either at least.

But its very personal for me, and I know more people disagree than agree with this preference, for good reasons, and its been... nearing a decade since DAI and the output since has been sad. MEA rates up to only 'good' in my most positive outlook, and Anthem only has 'good' bones somewhere in there, but no Anthem NEXT means its at least one of their worst games overall (besides some graphical elements among some other things).

'Bioware RPG' respect is becoming something outright human generational. Like its certainly not something almost any teenager cares about. DA4 has to outright reverse that, not just be a decent DA game.

Yeah, I liked DAI and MEA well enough but I wouldn't put them into either category. I found Wasteland 2 and 3, Disco Elysium and Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous way better than them.

Also Skyrim has level scaling, not as obnoxious as Oblivion's but it's still there, so if you don't level your character sufficiently you will find mobs get too difficult after the start of the game.

Can turn into a werewolf and "boring" don't go together.