Development of Mass Effect: Universe was going well
, by Thibaut
In addition to BioWare’s closure this week, the next Mass Effect game has also been canceled. Announced in December 2020, this fifth installment appeared to be facing development challenges. However, the production process was apparently going quite smoothly instead.
This was revealed by insider Shinobi602 on ResetEra. According to him, development "was going very well" and the release was "absolutely not scheduled for six years from now". Several developers had begun working on it in 2020 before being reassigned to Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which was BioWare’s priority at the time. He also stated that many people within EA’s leadership were enthusiastic. The vision for the project was very clear.
"The story was ready to go, the squad members were in place, the game areas were built, the NPCs were there, and a host of new features had been added to the combat system and the quest approach. The game was under construction, and none of the problems that arose during development as was the case with the Veilguard and Andromeda teams were disrupting the process."
The cancellation is reportedly due primarily to a change in direction by Electronic Arts, which now wishes to focus on sports games and shooters. Furthermore, the trailer that leaked this week was never intended to be released. The video contains preliminary pre-production footage intended to illustrate the studio’s vision for Mass Effect: Universe.
Source: resetera.com