An ex-manager at Electronic Arts has suggested that the next entry in the Mass Effect series from BioWare might never be released. All the way back in 2020, BioWare first confirmed that it was working on a new Mass Effect game. Since that time, very little news on the title has come to light, primarily as the studio was more predominantly focused on 2024’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard. And while Mass Effect 5, as fans have come to call it, is now the primary title that BioWare is working on, it sounds as though it could be in danger of getting scrapped.
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Speaking to PC Gamer, Emmanuel Rosier, the former senior manager at EA who worked at the publisher until 2024, suggested that Mass Effect 5 could never see the light of day. Rosier acknowledged the difficulties that BioWare as a studio has had in recent years, but also touched on the new ownership in place at EA, which is predominantly backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. While this group will undoubtedly want to continue focusing on projects that bring in the most money for EA (Madden, EA Sports FC, etc.) Rosier said that he thinks BioWare’s future is much more nebulous, which could result in Mass Effect 5 never materializing.
“[BioWare has] been struggling as a studio, as a brand have been struggling in recent years, and I don’t know if they will keep funding that one,” Rosier said. “I think that’s the biggest question mark for me.”
“I will believe it when I see it, the next Mass Effect game, let’s put it that way,” he went on to add. “I think everything can happen at this moment. They can pull the plug very, very easily. And if the new investor [doesn’t] have that many feelings about the history of the portfolio, they will take the most financially sound decision, most probably.”
Despite being one of the most popular RPG franchises of all-time, Mass Effect hasn’t been relevant for over a decade at this point. The most recent entry in the series, 2017’s Mass Effect Andromeda, was largely panned by critics and players alike upon its launch. This, combined with the poor reception seen with games like Anthem and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, has led to BioWare becoming a studio that doesn’t bring in much money for EA any longer.
With this in mind, if Mass Effect 5 were to get canceled, it would likely come in tandem with a studio shutdown of BioWare as a whole. Such a move would be incredibly disappointing, as BioWare has been one of the most beloved studios in the world for over 30 years. Still, given the rough trajectory that the developer has been on, a shutdown is something that also wouldn’t come as much of a shock whatsoever.
For now, it’s worth stressing that this is all merely hypothetical, although Rosier’s words do carry a fair amount of weight with them. As for Mass Effect 5 itself, the game doesn’t yet have even a broad launch window, nor have platforms for the title been confirmed.
