Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been off to a solid start on Steam. Let’s take a closer look at the game’s early metrics and compare them to other titles in Electronic Arts’ portfolio.
Launched globally on October 31, Dragon Age: The Veilguard received positive reviews from critics, with its average Metascore ranging from 79 (PC) to 84 (PS5). The Xbox version has the highest score of 93/100, but there are only five reviews.
Player reception has also been generally positive so far. The Veilguard currently has a 79% rating on Steam based on more than 4,200 reviews. While many players cited the game’s combat system, intriguing story start, and optimization as positives, others disliked the action-style gameplay and also criticized the writing and technical issues (e.g. crashes).
Some reviews also called The Veilguard a good action RPG but a bad Dragon Age game, so early impressions are really divided.
According to SteamDB, Dragon Age: The Veilguard peaked at 70,414 concurrent players within the first hours of launch. This already makes it the biggest BioWare game by peak CCU, surpassing Mass Effect Legendary Edition (59.8k CCU).
The closest Dragon Age game on the list is the original version of DAII (19.3k CCU). However, comparing The Veilguard to previous titles in the series is almost pointless because: a) most of them came out more than a decade ago; b) not all games launched on Steam simultaneously with other platforms.
For example, Dragon Age Inquisition only hit Valve’s store in June 2020 and reached its peak of nearly 5,000 CCU (thanks to a 90% discount) just a few months ago.
When it comes to other games published by Electronic Arts, Dragon Age: The Veilguard ranks 10th in peak concurrent players. It managed to top Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (67.8k CCU) and Battlefield 1 (53.7k CCU).
The Veilguard already has the highest CCU count among all premium single-player titles in the company’s portfolio. Below are the top 10 EA games by peak concurrent players:
- Apex Legends (free-to-play) — 624.4k CCU;
- Battlefield V — 116.1k CCU;
- EA Sports FC 23 — 110.8k CCU;
- EA Sports FC 25 — 110k CCU;
- FIFA 22 — 108.2k CCU;
- Battlefield 2042 — 107.37k CCU (during a free weekend);
- EA Sports FC 24 — 107.35k CCU (during a free weekend);
- The Sims 4 — 96.3k CCU (after going free-to-play);
- Need for Speed Heat — 86.1k CCU (during a free weekend);
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard — 70.4k CCU.
Electronic Arts has yet to reveal any launch figures for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but the company has high expectations for the project. During a Q2 earnings call, CEO Andrew Wilson noted that the game has “breakout potential” and that it can be a “great example of how our blockbuster storytelling engages and connects fans in truly unique ways.”