After Mass Effect Andromeda dropped with all the panache that a lead balloon entails, BioWare retreating to the safety of another beloved IP seems like a sensible prospect. Up until now, BioWare has kept pretty schtum about what it has in the pipeline, yet an interview with writer Alexis Kennedy has confirmed an all-new Dragon Age 4 title is in the works.

Kennedy joined BioWare last September after working on acclaimed narrative adventure games Fallen London and Sunless Sea, joining current Dragon Age gurus Mike Laidlaw and Patrick Weekes for the new project.

“There are huge differences between all of that and what I’m working on at BioWare,” Kennedy said Eurogamer, “which I can now legitimately say is in the Dragon Age franchise.”

If you were after the juicy details concerning Dragon Age 4, Kennedy is giving precious little away. However, he did intimate he had been brought on to explore an aspect of Dragon Age lore which has never been explored before.

“What I can say is I have been given considerable autonomy to work on a storyline bit of lore which is well-segregated from other parts of the game.” He added, “It's nothing that grandiose, but it is distinct. It’s a bit of lore which has not been addressed much to date in Dragon Age.”

Dragon Age IV will not be BioWare’s next title, that tricky task will be for a mysterious online co-op action game codenamed Dylan. BioWare will be launching Dragon Age 4 after Project Dylan, and according to Kennedy, the backlash from Mass Effect Andromeda has created a tricky working environment. The pressure is well and truly on BioWare to deliver with its next titles.

Following Kennedy’s interview, EA issued the following statement: “It’s a pleasure having Alexis involved with BioWare; we have no new information to share regarding Dragon Age at this time.”

At this point, it seems a little too early to hear about Dragon Age 4 at E3 in three weeks’ time, although anything’s possible. Instead, it’s far more likely BioWare finally takes the wraps off Dylan, its alleged answer to Destiny.

With Dragon Age 4 now a certainty, what are your hopes for the sequel? Dragon Age: Inquisition ultimately proved extremely divisive, Jon loved it in his review but all were in agreeance, would you like to see BioWare pivot away from the MMO-esque world and question design for a sequel?