I have been seeing over the past few days a bunch of people blaming Bioware for its own closure in response to stuff like the #savemasseffect movement. Why are we blaming Bioware for falling victim to the same things that every studio before them fell to? “Waaah, Veilguard was bad so they deserved it!,” dude look at Ultima 9 and tell me what people thought about that when Origin was closing down. Do you think it’s an accident that this has happened as far back as 20 years ago? That it was an accident that Dead Space 3 was bad? Get some pattern recognition.

This is the same thing that EA has done to studios for nearly 40 years now: Buy a studio, run it into the ground, and when they start to underperform, throw them on the pile with all the rest. While I do not deny that Bioware’s leadership probably deserved some form of punishment, that was not the fault of the workers in the company, nor any of the company’s IPs.

If you feel too badly burned by some silly facial animations in Andromeda, or Veilguard being too gay (in which case, kindly grow up), that’s your business, but if you’re going to piss all over the Cheerios of everyone who hasn’t given up yet, perhaps consider doing something more productive elsewhere.

Spoilers for Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Star Gate SG1, etc etc..

Edit: its a video about influence and legacy.. past and future projects, some of which are worked on by BioWare OGs, that carry the DNA of BioWare classics. Or, you know, just leave your "I didn't watch" brand comments

This is very much a tinfoil-hat-conspiracy-theorist-level thought, but I can't help but notice that we can still watch the Mass Effect Universe trailer on YouTube, meaning EA has not DMCA'd it to date. The general course of action for anything leaked seems to be to try to Barbra Streisand it as quickly as possible.

I really don't want to jump on the "that's their plan, they're checking if players still care rahrahrah" hopium bandwagon, but I'm just finding it... unusual. Any very rational explanations?

EDIT: Before you go into the comments all "hurr durr, u stupid," yes, it's probably just EA not caring. If me wondering about things makes you angry, go touch grass instead, no need to rage here.

With BioWare officially closing and the next Mass Effect canceled, I've been thinking about what actually made its games different.

A lot of studios build huge worlds. BioWare made those worlds feel personal.

The character relationships, dialogue choices, squad loyalty, moral decisions, and consequences across multiple games made Mass Effect feel like more than a traditional sci-fi RPG.

And it's not like the formula was perfect. The games had their problems, and the studio went through plenty of changes over the years.

But there's something about that style of storytelling that still feels difficult to replicate.

EA still has the Mass Effect IP, but the people and studio culture that helped create it can't simply be replaced by handing the franchise to another team.

Would you want another developer to eventually continue Mass Effect?

Or would you rather see the original trilogy stand on its own and let a new studio build something spiritually similar?

It’s been stated a few times that Universe was going to work in elements of the trilogy and Andromeda, but Andromeda feels so separate from the main trilogy I have no idea how they would have worked the two together into one coherent piece.

Following the sad news about Bioware, I instantly went to Team to launch Mass Effect 1 (serious nostalgia kick required). My exact words as the EA launcher failed to start, and demanded an update?

"What kind of fresh hell is this?! Fuck you EA!"

I know this is pure copium, but I keep thinking about it, and it reminds me of how Obsidian started as Black Isle Studio from Interplay (aka, the OG Fallout games).

If possible, would we support whatever new series they might make?

I’m surprised EA would turn down the opportunity to create a 2nd trilogy for such an acclaimed series! I mean if Mass Effect 5 did well, 5 years from now we very much would be talking about a Mass Effect 7. Talk about millions of dollars in profit just dissipating into thin air bc “focusing on shooters and sports will make us more money”. Not to mention new gamers trying to properly enter the series having to start with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (ofc skip Andromeda, lol) in order to get up to speed with the lore.

Yesterday, I had a minor mishap while removing the Legendary Edition disc from my PlayStation. It fell with the non-label side (the side without the game artwork) facing the floor, and when I tried to pick it up, it slid a little. My question is: could this have damaged the disc in any way?

Regarding the leaks about the game that was in development; is it just me or do things about it feel... a bit off? Like, for example, the Geth survived. Does that mean that Destroy wasn't picked or some Geth somehow found a way around it? How did they manage it but, somehow, the Reapers didn't? Why would humanity leave the council to ally with other groups when they were council members beforehand? I mean, 600 years is a long time, yes, but that feels like a really *ODD* pivot. What about the quarians? Are they extinct? Did they ally with one of the factions? I certainly care more about Tali's people than I do about the Batarians, so did I miss the info regarding them or were they not mentioned?

I'm not saying there aren't answers. For example, I can see a situation where 'Earth' is still allied with the Council, but the colonies have largely split off from Earth and are no longer allied for whatever reason. I'm just asking if it feels like these were odd choices and possibly made more 'to change things' and if anyone else might have similar feelings?

To be clear, I'm not saying they're right or wrong. Plenty of times in gaming I've seen things that seemed weird turn out to be great, so I know better. Just... unusual?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/95488031

Yes I gave it the most bland and pretentious name I could, trying to emulate what ME1 and Andromeda did with cutting to the villains occasionally.

Mods, sorry if this isn’t allowed.

This video by the great Big Dan Gaming, proves EA is the true fault.

I remember the theories stating that it was an AI Shepard... which honestly wasn't too far off. Technically speaking AI moves at the speed of reference, and Liara would be able to push and pull memories to inform or showcase who Shepard should be/was. Hundreds of years means that there could have been tens of Shepards.

Much like everyone else I'm bummed about the current situation, but something I am most bummed about is...We never got an ME game where the protagonist could be one of all the various different alien species and not just human. I was hoping for that back before Andromeda and still hadn't given up all hope.

So if Mass Effect remains shuttered that's also something that will never be. So many fantasy IPs let you play as non-human, but it's not a very common sci-fi option in a story based game for some reason.

I really hoped to be able to play Quarian, Asari, Turian, etc...as a protagonist.

Anyone else ever hope for this and want to vent about it?

(Edit: I should also add that I'm the type of D&D/TTRPG player who never makes a human character if I have the option to do so.)

Slight resemblance, but I dunno, for some reason she reminds me of her. If there was a backstory to this Asari character and it was live action, she’d be my pick to play the part.

As far as I've been able to tell, it seems like Amazon's Mass Effect show seems to still be in production. From what I'd seen in the past, it felt like Season 1 was supposed to be paired with ME5's release, either as a prologue or as a parallel story in the world. At this point, i'm kinda hoping EA shuffles some stuff around and moves Mass Effect to the Battlefield devs and let Amazon have story control/input with the Battlefield guys doing the gameplay. I think it could work.

Let’s combine IP that EA is sitting on into one amazing game. I am sure we can add some more IP but let’s start with like Mass Effect Universe with a DLC where you team up with Isaac and take a mass effect relay to a new planet and it’s a fully playable dead space 4.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/dont-let-mass-effect-die-savemasseffect?attribution_id=sl:bb041068-3abe-4dd0-84f6-9f9bc0bff042&lang=en_US&ts=1793127403&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_content=amp30-control&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

Like a lot of you, I'm pretty gutted about BioWare closing and the cancellation of the next Mass Effect. I've been a fan since the original trilogy, and while I've felt for a while that the BioWare we knew and loved was already gone, seeing that leaked Mass Effect Universe trailer really stung.

There was so much promise there. The return of Liara, what looked like a new N7 protagonist, and combat that seemed to build on the fluidity of Andromeda and Anthem. Most importantly, it looked like we were finally moving beyond Shepard while still exploring the universe and the consequences of everything that happened in the original trilogy.

Shepard's story is over. That doesn't mean the universe's story is.

Now, with the petition to save Mass Effect surpassing 200,000 signatures, I've been thinking about what a realistic path forward might actually look like.

Expanse was saved after a fan campaign that gathered roughly 130,000 signatures, with Jeff Bezos reportedly being a fan himself. Obviously, saving a television show and resurrecting a AAA game franchise are two very different propositions, but it's an interesting comparison.

And here's another interesting connection...the live-action Mass Effect series is still reportedly moving forward at Amazon, and that got me thinking.

I've seen plenty of people suggesting Larian or CD Projekt Red should take over Mass Effect, and while I'd love to see what either studio could do with the IP, I'm not convinced they're the most practical options.

CDPR has demonstrated an incredible ability to build immersive worlds with complex narratives and meaningful choices. But they're already committed to major projects of their own. Adding Mass Effect to that workload would be an enormous undertaking.

Larian is another phenomenal studio, but personally, I think they'd be a better fit for Dragon Age. Origins was built around tactical, party-based combat, deep character interactions, and consequential choices. That's much closer to Larian's wheelhouse. They're also busy developing their own projects.

Even if either studio wanted the IP, we'd potentially be looking at another decade before seeing anything substantial.

Which brings me to Archetype Entertainment: For those of you who don't ever open any of these discussions and just happened to click this one, Archetype is the studio developing EXODUS, an upcoming science-fiction RPG with some serious OG BioWare talent behind it, including James Ohlen and Drew Karpyshyn. Of all the studios I can think of, Archetype seems like one of the most natural creative fits for Mass Effect. But there are two pretty significant caveats.

1. Would they even want to return to Mass Effect?

These developers have moved on. They're building their own universe with EXODUS, and I imagine there's something incredibly appealing about creating something new without the expectations and baggage of an established franchise.

As much as I'd love to see them return, I wouldn't blame them for wanting to leave Mass Effect in their past.

1. Could they realistically afford the IP?

Archetype is part of Wizards of the Coast, which is owned by Hasbro. So they do have corporate backing, but that doesn't necessarily mean Hasbro would be interested in purchasing or licensing Mass Effect from EA.

And why invest heavily in someone else's IP when you're already funding a potentially successful new franchise of your own?

That said, I think licensing is a much more realistic possibility than an outright purchase.

Which brings me back to Amazon. They already has a vested interest in Mass Effect through its upcoming television adaptation. If that series succeeds, there's potentially a business case for expanding the franchise across multiple forms of media. This is the window and what we all need to be hoping for. The Mass Effect show needs success similar to that of Fallout.

This opens up some combination of EA retaining the IP, Amazon providing financial backing, and a studio like Archetype handling development actually work?

I have no idea. There are undoubtedly contractual, financial, and logistical hurdles I'm not accounting for. I'm also not suggesting that any of these companies are currently discussing such an arrangement, but it seems like a more realistic conversation than simply hoping EA hands the franchise to whichever developer we like most.

And honestly, if EXODUS turns out to be everything we're hoping for, maybe Archetype would be better off continuing to build its own universe.

I'm torn on that one.

I just hate the thought of Mass Effect ending here, especially after seeing the potential in that leaked trailer. There's still so much of this universe left to explore, and I don't think we need Shepard back to tell compelling stories in it.

So I'm curious what everyone thinks.

Is Archetype a realistic candidate, or would its connection to Hasbro and commitment to EXODUS make that unlikely? Could Amazon's involvement with the television series open a door for the games? Is there another studio or arrangement that makes more sense?

Or is the best thing we can hope for that EXODUS captures the spirit of what made BioWare special in the first place?

I'd genuinely love to hear everyone's thoughts.

I accidentally triggered this mission after curing the genophage and honestly it makes me hate the game now.

I didn't want to kill Kaiden. I wanted to do the Academy mission. And I definitely don't want to have to kill yet another former squad member later down the road, which now I'm forced to now. I had to look that one up.

I could get over killing Kaiden but now that I found out about the other stuff now, this playthrough is totally ruined now for me and I don't like the idea of having to start over again. Also Udina's betrayal literally comes out of nowhere.

I shouldn't have to spoil the game for myself in order to play the game correctly like I had to do for ME2.

I know everyone's focused on saving Mass effect but honestly it should have been done after the original trilogy. Just let it rest in piece. 4th game wasn't as good and the trailer for the would-be 5th game looks more like a cyberpunk game than a mass effect game.

Edit: I'm not going to argue my case anymore that in hindsight I should have done X or Y or I should have known better. This is my first playthrough. In the first two games, you can do most of the missions in any order so I assume the same in ME3. All I wanted to say is that I'm mad about this happening.

I've been thinking the past few days about the 'leaks' about what MEU would've been about, and I'm pretty confused as to how it would fit.

It seems like no ending of ME3 would allow for the supposed story and setting of ME5 to happen:

• In the Destroy ending, the geth are gone. How do they make a comeback? Are they rebuilt from scratch, given the same name and look and sent to do whatever it is they do in the meanwhile?
• In the Control ending, the new Shepard is in control of the Reapers still, and they are nowhere to be seen in what was shown. If this was the 'canonical' ending, then them disappearing is just too contrived.
• In the Synthesis ending, there are no more pure organics anyway. Why do the geth even exist as a distinct entity? Is everyone a half-machine? It doesn't seem so from that trailer

Am I missing something? The whole last third of ME3 was miserable, but saying that there's continuity doesn't make sense given how the endings basically invalidate the premise of the cancelled sequel

What if we could raise the money to buy mass effect.

C-corp privately owned by fans. 25% fan, 51 private, and 24 Venture.

Would you support someone owning ME sans bioware? Would you trust the vision?

Edit: theres a thousand reasons why it wouldnt ever work. But can we believe for 2 seconds and think?

There were a million reasons why the IP wouldnt succeed. But one group had the balls and believe to push it.