‘Mass Effect will continue’. That’s what BioWare promised all the way back in 2020 when it shared the first teaser for its next game in the series. Going on five years later, not only do we still know very little of what to expect from that game, but every update we get on the overall state of BioWare makes me less confident that there will ever be another Mass Effect game. And at this point, I’m not even sure I want one.
Since I foolishly spent 2004 through 2017 dedicating my gaming life to FIFA and not much else, I was a late comer to Mass Effect. I didn’t play through the trilogy until the Legendary Edition was released a few years ago and by the time I was done, all three installments ranked among my favorite games of all time, with Mass Effect 2 even vying for the top spot amongst a few other classics I have loved for much longer.
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I was so late to the series that by the time I was done, the first teaser for the next Mass Effect was already waiting for me. Unlike you hardcore fans who had then been waiting almost a decade for more Mass Effect – over a decade now – I had arrived at just the right time to jump into the next game within a year or two, or so I thought.
Here we are, nearly five years and change after that first teaser dropped and we know about as much now as we knew then. Not only is there still no release date for the next Mass Effect, but the developer is very much on the ropes with a publisher (and audience) that appears to be quickly losing faith in what it’s capable of.
EA’s Expectations For Dragon Age Spell Bad News For The Next Mass Effect
There’s a Future Where The Next Mass Effect Game Is Live Service
The next Mass Effect will have been a secondary concern for BioWare as it focused on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. A big return for its other hit series would have been the boost of confidence I and other Mass Effect fans needed as we continue our eternal wait, but that hasn’t happened.
The Veilguard underperformed massively, at least by EA’s metrics, pulling in half as many players as expected during its launch window. That led to layoffs, meaning there are now fewer people working on the next Mass Effect than there could have, and perhaps should have, been.
Fewer devs isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course. However, EA sticking its nose in during The Veilguard’s development, requesting it be live-service and then changing its mind, undoubtedly played a role in the game underperforming. That underperformance will likely have the heads at EA believing it needs to be more involved with Mass Effect rather than less, and a Mass Effect made with EA pulling BioWare’s strings is not a Mass Effect I have much interest in.
There Is Still Hope For The Next Mass Effect
Its Legendary Edition Proved We’re All Still Here, Waiting For More
Michael Gamble, the upcoming Mass Effect’s director, has assured fans of the series that all is well and work on the game continues. That Gamble is still there, having worked on the previous games, is a ray of hope for the series with many of the biggest names from the original trilogy, most notably Casey Hudson, no longer at the studio. I don’t doubt that work is ongoing, and that those working on it believe that so far, they’ve done good. But how long before EA looks in and starts calling the shots? And even if it doesn’t, what will this game need to achieve to be considered a success if it is ever released?
The Veilguard wasn’t a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. It scored a 79 on OpenCritic, and if this were a different era, 1.5 million copies sold out the gate would be considered a success. Mass Effect 5 doesn’t even really exist yet (we don’t even know if it will be called ME5), and everyone working on it, some of whom also worked on The Veilguard, must be looking at what’s happening and already feeling a tremendous amount of pressure.
The Veilguard also had a decade-long gap between it and its last game going against it. Although Mass Effect 3 was released in 2012, it does have an advantage over its BioWare buddy on that front. The Legendary Edition is only four years old. A remastered collection that not only reminded OG fans of just how good Mass Effect is, but brought a whole new group of fans like me into the mix. It’s also a fresh start with a new character, while Dragon Age was a sequel chasing Solas, meaning the ten-year gap was unwelcoming for newcomers and left older fans with a stale narrative to pick up.
Mass Effect Will Continue
Even If That Just Means We Go Back And Play It Again
Between seemingly unattainable expectations and a publisher that appears to think live-service makes everything better, maybe a new Mass Effect game just isn’t a good idea. The original trilogy is such a fantastic, self-contained thing that perhaps BioWare should just leave it at that. The beauty of Mass Effect is that even if you have played it before, you can go back and play it again and have an entirely different experience. Not to mention The Legendary Edition provides you a way of doing that all in one place with the games looking better than they have ever done before.
Of course, when that Mass Effect teaser dropped and BioWare committed to continuing its story, anyone who loves the series will have experienced the same excitement and anticipation that I did. I’ve had too much time to sit and think about it since though, and I don’t think I want more Mass Effect anymore. Even if I did, I still haven’t played Andromeda. That’ll hit the spot if I ever need more Mass Effect, right? I’ve heard it’s great.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- Released
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May 14, 2021
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
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