It has been revealed by Bioware figureheads that Dragon Age: Origins will not contain any multiplayer content. It may not come as a surprise to many, but following the inclusion of multiplayer in both Neverwinter Nights titles, it may strike some as odd.

In a recent interview, Dr. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk of Bioware answered the question flatly - while also talking up the inclusion of a tool set for the title, which will (at this point) see PC owners able to craft their own epic adventures within the Dragon Age universe.

In addition, more details regarding Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic were revealed.

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Muzyka explained that, as a single-player centric game, the focus of development of Dragon Age: Origins centers on producing the most compelling single-player experience possible:

[There are] No Current plans [for multiplayer]. This is a single-player game, and we chose to make it so that we really invest you as the character going through the world and make the experience that much more immersive and deep.

Dragon Age: Origins
Muzyka does acknowledge that social interaction is important to the title however, as Bioware's communities are often a highly active and outspoken collection of gamers.

... there is a social space outside the game. We know the world’s connected and how important that is, so we’ve integrated the community and the game together.

It was also revealed that downloadable content and expansions are likely for Dragon Age: Origins:

There’s a ton of downloadable content planned and also the user content generation tool’s going to release, so user-generated content — at least on PC, and we’ll explore whether it’s feasible on the console systems — will be shared with other players and fans. There’s also servicing of your Achievements and what you’ve done in the game; that’ll be true on all the systems.

When queried about multiplayer and co-op play for Mass Effect 2, Muzyka and Zeschuk were somewhat dismissive, indicating that while multiplayer is an area that the company is interested in for future titles (beyond Mass Effect 2).


Star Wars: The Old Republic
Speaking of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Zeschuk explained that multiplayer was important to build from the ground up for a title, and to not include as an after-thought:

... when we do the multiplayer stuff we’ll do it as a foundation of the game. It’s not worth it to throw it on after the fact.

The MTV Multiplayer interview contiains other information regarding Mass Effect 2 along with details of the company's future, which seem to be fairly broad, as explained by Muzyka:

You’ll see more stuff along the vein of “Dragon Age: Origins.” You’ll see more stuff from our MMO team ["The Old Republic] and there’s stuff we haven’t announced yet that’s different from all of those.

Meanwhile, Zeschuk indicated that:

Anything we do will be story-driven. That’s actually one of the most important things — to appeal to the emotional elements of our audience. That’s our focus going forward.

Dragon Age: Origins will be released later this year, and will be available on the PC, PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Mass Effect 2 is scheduled for release at some point during 2010, and a release date for The Old Republic has not yet been announced.