While BioWare had confirmed that development on a new Mass Effect game had begun quite some time ago, the studio has maintained silence aside from a few vague hints here and there. Taking to social media, franchise head Michael Gamble decided to clear the air on the studio’s silence on the subject, noting that it had decided to focus on making the game and that it didn’t have much time to tease anything.
Responding to another social media user asking why the studio had been so quiet, Gamble responded by saying that the studio was “Just busy working.” He went on to note that there was “Not a lot of time for tease.”
The last time we got any official teases about the game was during last year’s N7 Day celebrations, where BioWare posted some hidden artwork depicting a Krogan civil war. While not too many details could be gleaned from the discovery, Gamble said at the time that, “Everything you’ve seen – from all N7 days – will connect.”
Back in January, we saw another indication that BioWare was continuing to work on Mass Effect 5 in silence thanks to a job listing looking for a “very important senior leadership role.” On Twitter, Gamble said that the person hired for the role would “report to me, and it’s gonna be awesome.” The official title for the role was production director, and among the required qualifications was a “passion for the Mass Effect universe.” The role also required experience with “large-scale” AAA games and “deep expertise in ARPG and RPG development.”
“You will partner closely with creative leadership, studio teams, and internal and external partners to champion the game’s vision and ensure its execution at the highest quality bar.” Said position also involves bringing a “strong player-first mindset, deep knowledge of the competitive gaming landscape, and a commitment to building inspired teams through mentorship, collaboration, and best-in-class production practices.”
Not too many details about what kind of story will be told in the next Mass Effect game have been revealed. In fact, even Jennifer Hale, who was the voice actor for the female version of Commander Shepard in the original Mass Effect trilogy, doesn’t know whether the character will be returning.
“I have no idea. I have no idea,” said Hale. “This is what I say to fans: look, if you want Shepard in the next game, please, email [BioWare] and tell them, because maybe they’ll respond to that. I literally don’t know. I would love it.”
In the meantime, former executive producer on Anthem, Mike Darrah, had said that it would likely take a “long time” for the sci-fi RPG to come out, thanks to BioWare having moved to becoming a “one-project studio”.
“Mass Effect 5 team did what we should have done when we moved the Dragon Age people on to Anthem, which is…everyone wins,” he said. Darrah went on to note that, while the new setup has its “own problems”, it is a “different set of problems” than what the studio had been facing in the past, since “several projects fighting for attention and resources, and like bumping into each other and elbowing each other and causing unintended effects on each other. That’s not the studio that it is now. As near as I can tell, 100 percent of what they’re working on right now is Mass Effect. That’s probably for the best.”
