Earlier this week, reports emerged that BioWare—EA’s 31-year-old veteran studio behind classic RPG series such as Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect—was about to officially shut down, resulting in 400 employees being laid off; the in-development new Mass Effect game was also canceled. However, this may not mean the IPs under the studio are about to become a thing of the past.
Did three consecutive losses completely crush the veteran RPG studio?
Former Dragon Age series lead writer David Gaider also spoke earlier this year about his concerns for the series, especially since Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released in 2024, deliberately introduced a large number of modern DEI politically correct elements such as “transgender” and “sexual orientation identity,” which sparked unanimous condemnation from the global player community and ultimately led to dismal sales for the entire game. This also seems to have become the last straw that crushed BioWare after the successive failures of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem.
According to former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah, after officially shutting down the highly iconic studio, EA may next consider selling the publishing rights to its IP in order to help offset its current $55 billion debt.
“Don’t forget, BioWare is currently 100% owned by EA, and all of their IP is owned by EA as well, including Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Jade Empire. That won’t change after the shutdown. As things stand, there is no team inside EA responsible for developing these titles, and it’s very likely that no one will take them over in the future either. That may increase EA’s willingness to sell these IPs, but it could also lead them to simply pretend these titles never existed and bury them in a vault forever,” Darrah said on his own YouTube channel.
Are there other options besides selling IP?
Therefore, Darrah believes players may need to watch for a while longer to determine exactly how EA will handle these IPs. But as of now, after being acquired earlier this year by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, this well-known publisher is still in a cost-control phase; however, if it begins to shift toward actively generating revenue in the future, then “selling IP” could become one of the more attractive options.
Although EA apparently no longer has the internal capacity to continue developing future BioWare titles, fully selling off these IPs is not the only option—outsourcing development to other teams is of course another. For example, in recent years Konami has begun using a similar approach to thoroughly revive the long-dormant Silent Hill series, partnering with development teams from Poland, Taiwan, and Scotland to create three new titles—Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill f, and Silent Hill: Townfall—all of which have achieved impressive reviews and sales.
Cancelled Mass Effect Trailer Leaked by an Insider?
On the other hand, although players may now no longer have a chance to see the Mass Effect sequel BioWare had been developing for some time officially released, several former developers have come forward to reveal that the sequel had enormous potential and would even exceed the expectations of many RPG fans. Now, a leaked video has offered a brief glimpse of the latest look at this canceled game, along with its title—Mass Effect: Universe.
Mass Effect: Universe Trailer
byu/Random_Hyabusa_Ninja inmasseffect
Just last night, shortly after news of BioWare’s closure became public, a user named Random_Hyabusa_Ninja shared this mysterious trailer on the Mass Effect discussion board of the Reddit forum.
Although it is still impossible to confirm the authenticity of this video, since there had already been many reports suggesting that the trailer for the new Mass Effect game was ready, forum moderators and users generally believe that this is indeed the promotional video the new game never had a chance to release publicly, and that the content was not AI-generated but footage leaked from inside BioWare; some even suspect that the uploader is a member of the studio.
In this trailer, players can see the protagonist of the new game landing on a planet and striking up a conversation with an Asari at a bar, where the protagonist introduces their military background. The screen then shows multiple scenes heavily styled after Mass Effect, displaying the protagonist interacting with teammates in various locations, fighting, and even sharing some more intimate contact. The Asari then reveals to the protagonist that she is the mastermind behind “igniting the flames of war.” At that moment, the series’ classic character Liara officially appears, and the already tense atmosphere instantly erupts into a fierce gunfight. The trailer cuts off abruptly here, and the title Mass Effect: Universe gradually emerges, leaving behind a highly ironic tagline—”Coming Soon.”
Even though this promotional video does not include any actual gameplay footage, its overall atmosphere still aligns quite well with players’ expectations for a new installment in the series, and it also confirms that this title will directly continue the story of the Mass Effect trilogy. However, this also leaves fans of this sci-fi RPG series lamenting BioWare’s closure; as for whether the Mass Effect series will have any opportunity to continue in other ways in the future, for now it seems we can only wait quietly for further developments.
Source: KOCPC Chinese