By now, you've probably seen the news that BioWare is shutting down amid the latest wave of gaming industry layoffs. And the sting of that news is about to get even worse, because somebody has leaked the trailer for the now-cancelled Mass Effect 5.
This, of course, creates a classic case of 'oh, what could have been' as players watch the leaked trailer and imagine how good the full game might have ended up. You shouldn't need reminding that not all games live up to their trailers, but still, we'll never get to find out how good Mass Effect 5 could have been.
Another thing we don't know is quite where this leak originated from. Could this be a case, similar to the leaking of the Deadpool movie test footage, that somebody close to the production has done it deliberately to try to save their project from total death?
Indeed, there's been no shortage of people online praying that the Mass Effect licence can find a new home after BioWare's tragic demise. There's no word on that yet, but a couple of studios had already sprung up full of former BioWare people before this news broke.
Arcanaut Studios is working on Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic with Lucasfilm, while Archetype Entertainment is working on Exodus with Wizards of the Coast. Why those companies have such similar names, I don't know, but either one would seem like a fitting home for this project.
There will be plenty of talent for willing investors to hoover up, with around 50 BioWare developers being let go by EA in the current layoffs. It's also worth remembering that development of Star Wars: The Old Republic has sat with Broadsword Online Games for a while now. Could that studio have a role to play in the future of BioWare's intellectual properties?
But yes, let me come back to the point. The Mass Effect 5 trailer has leaked on Reddit, amid a discussion about just how far along the game's development may or may not have been. We expect that attempts will be made to get taken down, but for now, you can watch it there.
The trailer uses in-game footage and pre-production assets, and it shows a male character entering a bar wearing a familiar N7 jacket. He doesn't have the iconic Commander Shepard face or voice, so we expect this to be a new protagonist.
However, one familiar face does appear at the end of the trailer, namely Liara from the original games, who pops up to deliver a killer line and instigate a bar fight. The trailer ends by throwing up a potential title for the game – Mass Effect Universe.
While that name, and the Star Wars Galaxies memories that it invokes, feels like it could point to a multiplayer aspect, the content of the trailer itself doesn't seem to suggest that kind of MMO gameplay.
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Instead, the mysterious male character talks about leaving the military and taking up a new job where they can make "the choices no one else is willing to make". The trailer also shows flashes of combat scenarios, romantic entanglements and a map with multiple planets on it. Classic Mass Effect vibes, essentially.
Only time will tell if Mass Effect gets another lease of life after BioWare's demise, but one glimmer of hope lies in the fact that Amazon is continuing to work on a Mass Effect TV show.
Speaking of which, wouldn't Amazon Games – current owners of single-player franchises like James Bond and Tomb Raider – make a great home for Mass Effect? We can hope... and we'll be sure to let you know if we hear more about Mass Effect 5.
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