Former BioWare Producer Warned EA Could Cancel Mass Effect 5

Last week, news broke of yet another major game cancellation—one that is unlikely to ever see the light of day. It is Mass Effect 5, which was being developed by BioWare, but Electronic Arts decided to shut down the studio, sparking a lot of backlash among social media users.

Former studio developers have since spoken widely about what goes on behind the scenes and what the future holds for its franchises—not only Mass Effect but also Dragon Age. A great deal has been shared by former BioWare producer, Mark Darrah—in a recent interview with Insider Gaming, he recalled how he had warned about the cancellation of Mass Effect 5 long before BioWare's closure was announced. According to him, the main reason for the project's cancellation was the financial costs incurred by the publisher, Electronic Arts. You can check out Darrah's more detailed comments on this below:

“I think that there are good reasons why PIF and EA would want to make another Mass Effect game, but also, Andrew Wilson said he wanted to save $700 million, that there was $700 million in savings to come with the acquisition. $700 million is a ton. I don’t see how you get there without closing some things down. It also could be that Mass Effect is on that list.”

According to available information, Mass Effect 5 was subtitled Universe; its events were supposed to take place approximately 600 years after the ending of the original trilogy, and the story would have centered on a galactic Cold War. The developers planned to make the game for true fans by offering a vast array of choices, including the creation of alternate timelines based on the choices made in the original Mass Effect trilogy.

Upon learning about the scale and ambitions of the fifth installment, fans launched a petition to save the franchise —it has already garnered nearly 250,000 signatures and received support from Shepard’s voice actors, Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale.