Details Emerge About Canceled Mass Effect: Universe Game

Since the closure of BioWare and the cancellation of the next Mass Effect game, several individuals involved with the project have shared insights about what was planned. A leaked trailer, confirmed by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier and IGN, depicts a spy-thriller narrative that would have expanded on the series' emphasis on player choice.

The trailer, shared by a Reddit user, introduces a human character in a trench coat who informs an asari that he left the military for a new role to "stop fires before they start." The asari responds with, "I start the fires," leading to a confrontation that includes gunfire and biotic powers. The footage, created with pre-production assets, was meant for internal use only.

Australian YouTuber Dantics, who claims to have been part of BioWare's Mass Effect Council, elaborated on the game's setting and design goals. The trench-coated character was intended to be a customizable player character, described as an "agent" for N7, the special forces program from the original trilogy. Mass Effect: Universe aimed to deliver a James Bond-like experience set centuries after the events of Mass Effect 3.

Players would have utilized an experimental implant to manipulate objects and environments, similar to the hacking mechanics in Cyberpunk 2077. BioWare sought to create missions that echoed the handcrafted design of the original trilogy while allowing players to choose their approach, akin to the Hitman series or the early segments of Noveria in the original Mass Effect.

Retaining Core Elements of the Series

Dantics also mentioned that the game would retain series hallmarks such as potential romances and companion conflicts. He expressed enthusiasm for the project, noting that it was being developed primarily for fans and that the smaller team size encouraged creativity.

Final Assessment

The game was set in a universe where, after 600 years, humans and other races had largely recovered from the events of Mass Effect 3, resulting in the formation of three superpowers. One consisted of the original Citadel Council races, another was an alliance of humans, krogan, batarians, and others, while the geth formed the third faction. Dantics described their interactions as a cold war, with a hidden adversary manipulating events from the shadows.

Player choices from the original trilogy were expected to influence the narrative, and the game was also designed to connect with Andromeda. Despite the cancellation of Mass Effect: Universe, some fans remain hopeful that EA might eventually sell BioWare's intellectual property, especially given the company's history of leaving dormant franchises untouched. Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah speculated that EA might consider selling these properties to help alleviate its significant debt from a previous leveraged buyout.