Jade Empire is often considered one of BioWare’s most criminally underrated games to date. Lost in the shuffle of the megaton releases of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, the martial arts RPG is often overlooked by most, but as its many, many fans would tell you, it’s one hell of a game. There have been many who have wondered whether a sequel was ever on the cards at BioWare, and we now have a clearer answer to that.
Revolver was a project that started life as a sequel to Jade Empire, and eventually morphed into its own thing, instead becoming more of a spiritual successor. More details were revealed in the recently published book BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development. Meanwhile, BioWare artist Matt Rhodes has been providing a better look of what the game would have looked like, showing characters, environments, antagonists, and more with dozens of pieces of concept art across a number of galleries on Instagram, all of which you can view below.
Revolver was going to be an open world game with a sandbox environment that would have put a focus on traversal and parkour. The game was set to feature non-linear storytelling and quests in its science fiction setting. It was in development from 2005 to 2008 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, but BioWare eventually cancelled the project internally, instead shifting focus to Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 (via Eurogamer).
Given how interesting that premise and setting sound and how aesthetically the game looks based on the art shared by Rhodes, it goes without saying that many BioWare fans will be aching over the game’s cancellation. Take a look at its concept art below.
