The next Mass Effect that could have been leaves us stunned
With the news yesterday that Electronic Arts was shutting down BioWare came an outcry of support and sadness from across the industry, fans and lovers of sci-fi. Mass Effect alone was a formative game experience for millions, and the sequels and offshoots were a beloved part of its mythos.
Things seemed to be going strong for the studio, as the next game in the franchise was announced in 2018 and then teased with a Game Awards trailer in 2020. Just as recently as last year we were told that it was still being worked on.
And now we know what that work looked like, and what we’re going to sorely miss.
Posted on reddit today was the full internal trailer for the game, meant to get the staff hyped up and make some decisions as a sort of work in progress. With the series’ N7 Day coming up in a couple of weeks it feels natural that this trailer (updated) may have been revealed during the day.
The game would have been known as Mass Effect: Universe, focused on Liara and a new protagonist, and taken the series to bold new worlds and amazing new visuals.
Just sadness now. Even more than we had going into today. The game looks like it was well on its way, with this trailer that’s supposedly been ready for a few months.
Sigh.
