Grammy-winning composer uploads Mass Effect 5 music following cancellation news
Austin Wintory made more than 20 minutes of Mass Effect 5 music in a pitch to BioWare
Grammy-winning composer Austin Wintory has shared his proposed soundtrack for BioWare’s now-cancelled Mass Effect 5.
The Sword of the Seas and Journey composer uploaded the 22 minutes of music to his YouTube channel, following last week’s news that Mass Effect 5 has been cancelled and BioWare closed by Electronic Arts.
Wintory said he created the music last year in a pitch to BioWare and called Mass Effect his “all-time dream project”.
“Working on Mass Effect 5 was my career’s biggest dream project, my white whale,” he wrote. “It is my favorite franchise of all time, and for the last couple years I’d been in serious conversations with BioWare and EA to jump in.
“My suggestion was to treat the original game’s masterful Jack Wall / Sam Hulick score as a starting point, and to build on it from there with deeper use of physical, analog synths and a more tightly interwoven use of the orchestra. But a love letter first and foremost (not unlike my approach to the Aliens franchise with Fireteam Elite).”
He continued: “As part of the ongoing dialogue, I decided last year (2025) to surprise the folks with an elaborate production: nearly 20 minutes of music, fully recorded and produced with synths, vocals and a large orchestra here in LA. I’d not yet learned any narrative details of what they were planning so this was just pure musical exploration.
“Receiving the news alongside everyone else that EA had decided to not only cancel the project but shut down BioWare entirely was a deeply felt loss. It’s been hard to see dear friends lose their jobs, and this beloved franchise seemingly vanish forever.
“Thank you nonetheless to everyone at BioWare and EA’s music department for gifting me the chance to dream in your sandbox. It was a privilege to do even that much.”
Following the news that Electronic Arts plans to close BioWare and cancel the Mass Effect series, a fan petition to save the series has passed 230,000 signatures.
On Tuesday, one group of fans supporting the #SaveMassEffect movement even funded a billboard at New York’s Times Square.
