Oh what could have been for Mass Effect
Like many of us, famed composer and producer Austin Wintory (Journey, Abzu) was REALLY REALLY UPSET when Electronic Arts shut down BioWare last week. It really did gut all of us to see the developers of some of our favorite RPGs of all time be forced to close, and its final project cancelled. But for Wintory it was especially difficult, as he had been working on a pitch for the next Mass Effect game’s soundtrack, only to see that ultimately lead to nothing.
In a series of Bluesky posts and on his YouTube page Wintory details that as a huge fan he had created this audio pitch for the team some two years ago, in hopes to be considered as someone who can help develop the soundtrack for the game. Just last year he presented the team with that pitch, presented in the 20-minute video below.
Wintory wanted to honor the history of Mass Effect, from that original’s opening theme to the heroics and emotion of the the sequels. And wow, we’re blown away by just this short sequence of magic. It really is painful to know that so much work had gone into development for the game, and so much love had fueled that work, only for Electronic Arts and its new owners to cut back on nearly anything of value.
Here’s Wintory’s statement on YouTube:
Working on Mass Effect 5 was my career’s biggest dream project, my white whale. It is my favorite franchise of all time, and for the last couple years I’d been in serious conversations with BioWare and EA to jump in. My suggestion was to treat the original game’s masterful Jack Wall / Sam Hulick score as a starting point, and to build on it from there with deeper use of physical, analog synths and a more tightly interwoven use of the orchestra. But a love letter first and foremost (not unlike my approach to the Aliens franchise with Fireteam Elite)
As part of the ongoing dialogue, I decided last year (2025) to surprise the folks with an elaborate production: nearly 20 minutes of music, fully recorded and produced with synths, vocals and a large orchestra here in LA. I’d not yet learned any narrative details of what they were planning so this was just pure musical exploration.
Receiving the news alongside everyone else that EA had decided to not only cancel the project but shutdown BioWare entirely was a deeply felt loss. It’s been hard to see dear friends lose their jobs, and this beloved franchise seemingly vanish forever.
Thank you nonetheless to everyone at BioWare and EA’s music department for gifting me the chance to dream in your sandbox. It was a privilege to do even that much.
And from his Bluesky:
