“A guy’s normal life walking down the streets of this city is more spectacular than what the Queen of Orlais is seeing,” says BioWare.

While fans of the Dragon Age franchise have traipsed multiple locations throughout its history, Minrathous in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is brand new. As the capital of Tevinter Imperium, it’s also the largest city in Thedas. When speaking to Edge magazine (via GamesRadar), art director Matthew Rhodes and game director Corianne Busch described its scale.

“People who have a history with Dragon Age have thought about what Minrathous might be like,” said Rhodes. As such, the developer is “shooting for the moon” and trying to live up to a line from the mage Dorian in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

“When your Dragon Age: Inquisition companion Dorian joins you in Orlais, one of the biggest cities in Thedas, he mentions that it’s quaint and cute compared to Minrathous,” says Busch. This “one bit of dialogue was our guiding principle on how to realize this city.”

Minrathous is “sprawling” and “lived-in” but also “sometimes it’s grimy, sometimes it’s bougie. But it is expansive.” Such is the scale that, as Rhodes notes, “A guy’s normal life walking down the streets of this city is more spectacular than what the Queen of Orlais is seeing, at least in terms of sheer scale.”

There are a lot of layers to the city, which created some challenges for the team. Busch notes that they used “props and architecture that help lead the eyes” and “remind the player often of how stacked the city is. Wherever you’re standing, there’s guaranteed to be more below and above you.” This is evident in the first gameplay reveal, which saw Rook and Varrus traveling downward through its streets.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches this Fall for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, with Electronic Arts recently narrowing the window to sometime between October 1st and December 31st, 2024.