Mass Effect Andromeda may be the fourth entry in the series, but it is categorically not a Mass Effect 4– it’s a brand new story and arc, separated in space and time from the previous entries. There is a reason that Bioware chose to ditch the recognizable characters and setting of the previous game and go for something entirely new, however- and in a decision I can respect, it had to do with their own creative concerns.
Speaking at PAX East, Mac Walters, Creative Director of Mass Effect: Andromeda, said that Bioware didn’t make the new game a Mass Effect 4 because they wanted the original trilogy to be just that- a trilogy. They wanted that story arc to end. There were logistical issues, too- any new game in the series would have to take into account the three endings of Mass Effect 3, all three that Bioware insists are fundamentally different- rather than having to account for them and work around all three of them, they chose to separate the new game from the previous ones.
It’s a good decision, especially since Mass Effect Andromeda seems to be a better game because of it. The game launches on March 21 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
[Via The Wolf Hall]