Some indications suggest that BioWare is working on the next installment of the “Mass Effect” series. But where could the journey lead next?
After Mass Effect: Andromeda, the space franchise from BioWare has been quiet. However, there have been recurring rumors that the world of Mass Effect is not dead and that a new game will eventually come. Now, there are initial hints that this “eventually” is already in development.
What is this hint? BioWare and EA have had a new job posting on their website for a few days now, which has made some fans perk up. They are looking for a “Technical Director” who has experience in the development of AAA multiplayer games. According to the description, he will work on an upcoming title of the “most prestigious franchises of BioWare”.
BioWare is primarily known for the two game series “Dragon Age” and “Mass Effect”. Since Dragon Age 4 received a first teaser some time ago, development there seems to have been ongoing for quite a while. A “new game” could thus be Mass Effect, which is getting another spin-off.
Why is multiplayer important? Even though “Mass Effect” has always been primarily a single-player game, multiplayer has been an integral part since Mass Effect 3 – having a Technical Director with multiplayer experience makes sense. In the multiplayer of Mass Effect 3, as well as in Andromeda, up to three friends fought against waves of enemies to earn better weapons, abilities, and new characters.
This was also a good opportunity for Mass Effect to make some extra money through microtransactions, as players could purchase additional boosts and loot boxes in multiplayer, which were also available through normal gameplay.
A multiplayer is therefore important for Mass Effect to keep players engaged with the game longer while generating more revenue.
The last title was a flop: The last installment of the “Mass Effect” series was quite a failure. Mass Effect: Andromeda was released in an unfinished state, and especially the poor and faulty facial animations made immersion in the game world nearly impossible. Although these and other bugs were fixed with some patches, the damage was done.
Additionally, Andromeda largely deviated from the original story of the first trilogy and thus missed exciting and beloved characters.
Planned DLCs were canceled and development was halted relatively early after release. Only a few multiplayer updates were still released.
Yet it was already said in 2017 that Mass Effect has a “beautiful future”.
Whether the next installment of the series can impress again will surely be revealed with time. The current job posting at least fuels the hope that Mass Effect could bloom once more.
