Is ‘Dragon Age: Absolution’ related to the ‘Dragon Age’ games?

In keeping with its streak of solid releases, Netflix is once again delving into the world of video game adaptations.

Based on BioWare’s beloved Dragon Age franchise, Dragon Age: Absolution is headed to the streamer later this year. Fans have high hopes that the series will find a similarly successful formula to previous series like the live-action The Witcher and the unexpectedly stellar League of Legends adaptation, Arcane.

Following the announcement of the six-episode first season, fans of the video game franchise behind the upcoming series swarmed to news reports to soak up as much information as possible. We know it’s set to arrive before the end of the year and that the series promises stunning animation and a thrilling, fantastical storyline, but what else is known about Netflix’s upcoming Dragon Age series?

Is Dragon Age: Absolution connected to the Dragon Age games?

Dragon Age: Absolution is an adaptation of the Dragon Age games, but that doesn’t mean it will be a carbon copy of the popular franchise. As with Arcane, fans can expect to recognize plenty of the elements included in Netflix’s adaptation, but the story contained within Absolution will be entirely unique.

A collaboration between Netflix, BioWare, and EA, Absolution aims to adapt the popular RPG into Netflix’s latest animated hit. If it follows cues from several of the series that have come before, the show could well bring a whole new collection of fans into the Dragon Age fold. It won’t follow any of the familiar characters or storylines from the Dragon Age games, however, instead choosing to pursue an entirely new ensemble of characters, according to a brief blurb from Netflix.

The story is also expected to deviate from known Dragon Age plots, but details around the first season’s storyline remain scarce. With a new cast of characters, however, fans are largely expecting the Netflix series to offer up something completely new, while still leaning on the rich Dragon Age lore. The series will incorporate known characters “inspired by Dragon Age lore,” according to comicbook.com, which will include “elves, mages, knights, Qunari, Red Templars, demons, and other special surprises.”

The series is set in Tevinter, an as-yet unexplored realm in the Dragon Age games. It will introduce viewers to the world ahead of the release of the fourth main game in the Dragon Age franchise, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, which likewise takes place in Tevinter. The Netflix series is set to debut in December of 2022 — though an exact release date is still pending — and Dreadwolf has yet to get even a release window, a fact that all but guarantees Absolution will precede Dreadwolf by at least a few months.

The show could serve as a prequel of sorts to the video game, if BioWare intends for the series to be directly linked back to the story in Dreadwolf. If not, it will simply serve as an introduction to the realm of Tevinter, and an invitation to non-gamers into the rich world created by BioWare.

The series will be produced by Red Dog Culture House with Mairghread Scott serving as showrunner, according to Deadline. Red Dog Culture House is behind a number of popular animation projects, including Netflix’s The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf and Heaven Official’s Blessing. Scott, meanwhile, has kept busy over the last few years, pursuing a number of comic book and Star Wars adaptations like Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars Resistance.

The show is expected to drop in December 2022, and this article will be updated once an exact release date is known.