BioWare Still Considering a Jade Empire Sequel

Eurogamer has word from BioWare’s Mike Laidlaw that the company wouldn’t necessarily shy away from developing a sequel to Jade Empire, but that all of the appropriate criteria would have to come together for the franchise to make a return.

“Ha ha ha – we get asked that a lot,” laughed BioWare’s Mike Laidlaw, writer of Jade Empire, when asked about the prospect of a new game. “In fact I get asked that a lot because of my role on Jade.”
“The thing with Jade Empire is ultimately it’s one of our intellectual properties, it’s there, and one that we’re intensely proud of. It did such a neat job of building this fantastical world.
“Currently obviously nothing is announced. It’s one of those things that long-term, Jade [Empire] could make a comeback.”
“It may,” he added, “but we’ll see how time goes.”
Laidlaw said there is a “really strong central core” of fans that would “absolutely love” another Jade Empire game to be made. “I just take that as a compliment,” he said. “I think it’s awesome.”
He went on: “It’s something we look at every once in a while and consider – it’s just a matter of where the business is, and the team – making sure everyone is passionate about it before anything happens. It’s a number of situational things.”
Jade Empire broke BioWare’s mould of pseudo turn-based combat, preferring instead a button-bashing action system similar in many regards to Dragon Age II. The story followed an apprentice fighter on a journey to overthrow a tyrannical ruler and packed gorgeous environments, mystical abilities and some meaty plot twists along the way.

The irony is that, at the time, I thought Jade Empire was about as action-heavy as any BioWare-developed RPG could get (despite thoroughly enjoying it). Now I’d say that Dragon Age II has taken that crown. With all of its exotic locations and amazing lore, I also think that Jade Empire is – by far – the superior game. I’d welcome a sequel, as long as it doesn’t get “streamlined”.