Dragon Age: Inquisition is already playable

Bioware's long awaited next entry in the Dragon Age saga may be way off from release, but the game is already in a fully playable "holiday build". The news comes from executive producer Mark Darrah, posting on the official blog.

"These types of builds go way back in BioWare's history," he explains. "Effectively, they are builds we create around the holiday break that are packaged in a way that allows the team, and other parts of BioWare, to play the game in as complete of a state as we can get it."

This means that the core storyline is complete and can be played from start to end, all the main gameplay systems are in place and interacting with each other, character classes are being balanced and the game engine tech is being locked down. Voiceover recording is starting, and music is starting to be added.

Perhaps most importantly, the team is focused on building the map areas that players will explore. "Areas form a huge part of the content in Dragon Age: Inquisition," Darrah explains. "It is very important to me that the game cover a large variety of locations. Not only does it expand the possibilities of our storytelling, it also gives us an opportunity to show a lot of different things. In a game that places a lot of emphasis on discovery, this is very crucial."

Dragon Age: Inquisition is due for release in Autumn 2014 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.