Mass Effect 5 Developer Reveals New Details on Canceled Game — Gaming

Image Courtesy of Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts has only just killed BioWare and canceled the Mass Effect game it was working on reportedly called Mass Effect: Universe. It was a cold decision met with anger by the wider gaming community, given the Canadian developer’s contributions to the medium. But even though that mysterious Mass Effect installment has been shot out of the airlock, a developer on the game has revealed alleged new details on the game, showing players a glimpse of something they will likely never get to play.

As pointed out by a user on Bluesky, franchise technical director Romain Toutain held a stream talking about the canceled RPG while watching its leaked trailer. Toutain, who was at BioWare for almost five years, relayed some details that weren’t previously known, such as:

The bartender in the trailer was a brand-new race
The game looked as good as it did in the trailer
The hero was customizable (obvious, but still worth pointing out)
There was a reason reason Mass Relays were back
The protagonist could actually do the combat moves in the trailer

Mass Effect: Universe‘s Story Was Apparently Going to Be Incredibly Open

However, the meat here revolved around its connection to the original trilogy. Universe would have taken the player’s choices in from those three games, which would explain its subtitle. Toutain claimed players could stitch their saves together and create parallel universes. He said he was simplifying it, but players could essentially make new timelines and create new points in said timeline. It’s all rather complicated, however, he noted BioWare had a tech solution that could help the team find possibilities and make sure every branch was accounted for. Even with a French translation, he made one thing clear: “You have no f-cking idea how great it was.”

This fits under the alleged mission statement for the game: “Absolute autonomy.” It was also BioWare’s response to Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, both of which were celebrated for their liberating amount of freedom.

Toutain echoed statements made by another who claimed to have more insight into the game. As gathered by Kotaku (who had a source corroborate the information), YouTuber Dantics said the game took place 600 years after the original trilogy and the Citadel, because of the destruction of the Mass Relays in Mass Effect 3, sat above Earth and meant humanity was cut off from the rest of the galaxy. Humans allied with the aliens who were stranded on Earth, and the other races formed their own alliances.

Universe would have accounted for most of the endings, too. The “Control” ending would have meant the Reapers were “outdated” (although, it is unclear exactly what this means). Since cybernetic enhancements became more common, those who chose the “Synthesize” ending would have just gotten to the same place earlier. And the “Destroy” ending would have made Shepard a “very known” character in the lore.

Universe also reportedly would have had a Cold War between the robotic Geth and two separate alliances: one between the turians, salarians, and asari and another with humans, krogan, and batarians. Of course, the Geth would have been more or less wiped out by the “Destroy” ending in Mass Effect 3, but Universe would have explained how they came back. Because of this espionage-esque mood, the player would have been more like James Bond and had their own hand-to-hand combat techniques. This would have also fit in with their new gadgets, which would have allowed them to interact with various devices littered around similar to Cyberpunk 2077 or Watch Dogs. And while it seems like its narrative was going to be more open, the missions would have been more structured like the original trilogy’s and not like the more sprawling levels in Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Despite petitions and billboards, it seems almost impossible this game will ever materialize in more than social media posts. Electronic Arts, as Toutin stated in his video, doesn’t seem keen on selling franchises it has no plans with. While possible, this is unlikely to change under EA’s incoming new leadership.

What do you think of this Mass Effect: Galaxy trailer? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

New Mass Effect Trailer Leaks Online a Day After Its Cancellation and BioWare Shut Down