The following contains spoilers for Dragon Age: Absolution, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix's Dragon Age: Absolution is the franchise's first foray into animated series, but the story that unfolds has left audiences questioning whether it is canon or not. Dragon Age: Absolution seems to tell a story not yet seen in the games at first, but the Netflix series adds details that align with what is expected from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. This -- along with certain references made throughout Dragon Age: Absolution -- suggest that the series is in fact canon to the games.
Dragon Age might be a series of role-playing games, but there are elements of the narrative that are uncontested through different runs. Player choice is at the heart of the series, but each gameplay begins with a choice between a default and a pre-influenced world. This means that there is a state that the games consider to be canonical. Whether Dragon Age: Absolution aligns with that state or not, however, remains to be answered. It might not be the best video game adaptation yet, but there are clues whether it's canon.
Dragon Age: Absolution is After the Canonical Events of the Last Game
From references made in the series, audiences know that it takes place after the first game. The first of these references is a "hole in the sky" and the second is "Corypheus." For those unfamiliar with the most recent installment in the game franchise, it involved a lot of hubbub over a massive hole in the sky, referred to as "The Breach." This was created by a power-hungry mage by the name of Corypheus, whose sole intentions were to completely dominate Thedas. These references to canonical plot-points suggest the series is canon to the games.
Outside the possibilities of it being canon to the games that have already been released, Dragon Age: Absolution hints at being canon to the next game in the series as well. Fans of the series do not know much about the next installment, called Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, but from the trailers and information released so far, they know a bit. The game will be set in Tevinter, and will focus on the elf known as Solas aka The Dreadwolf. Not only is the series set in Tevinter, but the nature of its story -- that being revolution against oppressors -- is what earned Solas that name in the games. Though it might not be one of the top non-anime series with the coolest animation, it does seem to align with what one can expect from the future of the franchise.
The Relationships Make References To Canon
Though neither Hira nor Miriam are previously established characters, their story references the games in more than one way. Other than the references to Hira's role in the Inquisition -- the titular organization from the most recent game -- it also reflects a recurring theme: forbidden romance involving a mage. As the first-ever quest from Dragon Age: Origin and a recurring motif in the games, their inclusion might take that familiar side-quest story and turn it into a grander narrative, one that proves canon to the games.
While Netflix's Dragon Age: Absolution is the franchise's first foray into animated series, the story seems to be canonical to the story of the games. Though there are many challenges to adapting a game as The Last Of Us creators can attest to, Absolution manages. References to elements of Dragon Age: Inquisition, as well as references to what fans can expect from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf suggest that the Netflix series is part of the games' rich canon. Even if Absolution's new characters are not acknowledged in the games themselves, their stories still tie into long-running themes in the games.
See how Dragon Age: Absolution picks up from the canon, now available to stream on Netflix.