Mass Effect 5: Austin Wintory (Journey) shares concept music
, by Thibaut
With each passing day, we learn a little more about the Mass Effect game that was canceled last week following BioWare’s closure. A trailer and details about the game’s storyline and gameplay have already been shared online.
Now, composer Austin Wintory has spoken out about the project. Known for his work on Journey, The Banner Saga, and Abzû, he had composed some preliminary music for Mass Effect: Universe. We can now listen to 22 minutes of musical drafts that Wintory had presented to the BioWare teams.
« Working on Mass Effect 5 was the biggest dream project of my career. It’s my all-time favorite franchise, and over the past two years, I’d been in serious discussions with BioWare and EA about getting involved.
My suggestion was to take Jack Wall and Sam Hulick’s masterful soundtrack from the original game as a starting point and build upon it with a deeper use of physical and analog synthesizers, as well as a closer integration of the orchestra. But first and foremost, it was a love letter (reminiscent of my approach to the Aliens franchise with Fireteam Elite).
As part of the ongoing discussions, I decided last year (2025) to surprise the teams with an elaborate production: nearly 20 minutes of music, entirely recorded and produced with synths, vocals, and a full orchestra here in LA. I hadn’t yet learned the narrative details of what they were planning, so it was a pure musical exploration. »
Austin Wintory clarified that he learned of the game’s cancellation at the same time as everyone else. He still made a point of thanking EA and BioWare.
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