‘EA remains committed’: BioWare dispels ‘rumors’ and reassures fans Mass Effect 5 is still coming
“EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe,” insists Mass Effect producer
The director of the next Mass Effect game has reassured fans that the next game in the series is still in development, despite few updates, and EA’s impending sale to private investors, including Saudi Arabia’s PIF.
Little has been seen of the next Mass Effect since developer BioWare released a teaser two years ago. Since then, EA has downsized BioWare’s development team, though it claimed cuts were related to those who had shipped Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Concern has grown around the project recently due to EA’s impending move to go private, which will see the company saddled with $20 billion in debt. Some industry analysts have suggested this will force the company to make cuts and focus on its most profitable franchises, which would potentially spell trouble for BioWare and Mass Effect.
However, in its traditional ‘N7 Day’ update posted on Friday, Mass Effect executive producer, Mike Gamble, provided a small update on the next game, and specifically dispelled the suggestion that the project might be in trouble.
“Like you, we’ve heard the rumors lately,” he wrote. “You’ve made it clear you care deeply about what’s next. So let’s start by setting the record straight: the next Mass Effect game is in development, and EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe.”
The post continues: “The truth is, the last few years have been an incredibly busy time at BioWare. But currently, the team is heads-down and focused exclusively on Mass Effect. We have a lot of universe to cover, lots of features to build, and lots of romances to figure out.
“We’re excited by what we’re building, and we promise you: when we’re ready, it’ll be a lot of fun to show. Until then, thank you for your patience because y’all are thirsty for news and I see you looking for secret meaning in my tweets (okay, sometimes they have secret meaning).”
Beyond the next game, Gamble confirmed that the Mass Effect live-action series being developed by Amazon will feature a story set after the original game trilogy’s timeline. “It won’t be a retread of Commander Shepard’s story – because after all … that’s YOUR story, isn’t it?”
BioWare first revealed it was working on a new Mass Effect game in November 2020 with the release of a teaser trailer. However, according to one 2023 report, the next Mass Effect might not release until as later as 2029.
