What happened with Mass Effect Andromeda was no doubt a tragedy, from several different angles. In the aftermath, the series has been put on the proverbial shelf, with the team moved to work on titles such as Star Wars: Battlefront II and BioWare’s own Anthem. Despite plans for what was likely intended to be an Andromeda series being canned, it’s hard to believe the Mass Effect series proper is also on the chopping block. Sure enough, as WWG reports, sources from both BioWare and EA are confident that Mass Effect is not dead.
The initial buzz came from a Eurogamer interview with Anthem lead producer Mike Gamble. For context, Gamble was speaking to Eurogamer about the sense of identity fans should expect from Anthem. He differentiated it from corridor shooters, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect. He says that a new Dragon Age is in development, Mass Effect is “certainly not dead, and that Anthem has characteristics that set it apart from both.
WWG writer Liana Ruppert also claims to have spoken to a “key member” of EA, and snuck in a question about the fate of BioWare’s landmark sci-fi property. This person is quoted as saying “Mass Effect is definitely still happening,” and that the IP is way too valuable for EA to walk away from it entirely.
All of that makes sense, of course. One dud won’t sink a ship as powerful as Mass Effect, which is tied up all over the place outside of video games, including books, collectibles, board games, apparel, and more. The IP is probably generating revenue as I type this, just from sitting and existing. There’s no way it’s dead, but getting a new version up and running after Anthem wraps up (and continues to generate content itself) will likely take a few years yet.
[Source: WWG]
