Mass Effect 5 is "still in pre-production"

As the biggest Mass Effect fan once upon a time, I would never consider buying a new Mass Effect from "Bioware" these days. This doesn't make it out of pre production.
 
Mass Effect is my favorite game franchise ever. I literally always have a trilogy run going. I may take a month or two off from it, but I always have one going. I've never gamed on PC before but I'm exploring running it on my laptop so I can play the trilogy with mods. I adore this series. I even liked Andromeda despite its flaws because it had potential in a sequel.

That said, I have zero faith in BioWare to release a good game. I wouldn't even want them to continue the story of the main trilogy. That story has been told. I'm grateful for what we got in this series.
 
Instant_Classic said:
Mass Effect 5 is "still in pre-production" says director of BioWare.

https://tech.yahoo.com/general/articles/mass-effect-5-still-pre-113257341.html

644bf26da600120693ba08d32b44c07d


Mass Effect 5 was revealed in December 2020.

It's crazy how long it takes for games to release.

We got the whole Mass Effect trilogy in one gen, during the PS360 era.

If this ever releases, it will likely be a 2030 - 2032 game.
Click to expand...
PS5 cross gen game for sure.
 
WoJ said:
Mass Effect is my favorite game franchise ever. I literally always have a trilogy run going. I may take a month or two off from it, but I always have one going. I've never gamed on PC before but I'm exploring running it on my laptop so I can play the trilogy with mods. I adore this series. I even liked Andromeda despite its flaws because it had potential in a sequel.

That said, I have zero faith in BioWare to release a good game. I wouldn't even want them to continue the story of the main trilogy. That story has been told. I'm grateful for what we got in this series.
Click to expand...
Arguably, the combat in Andromeda is the best of the series. It's just that everything else is a fucking letdown.
 
This sort of nonsense is now forever gonna make me think of this quote from expedition 33's publisher:

"I think that there's been a lot of irresponsible practices in the industry," he said. "Some games can make it work. Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to make it work, I think we can all say with great confidence. But there are plenty of games made with very large teams and for huge amounts of money that don't land, and there is a human cost to running things that way. People lose their jobs."
 
Instant_Classic said:
A lot of people forget this aspect.

Most of these devs in these legendary studios were in their prime age wise, 15 or 20+ years ago.

To be honest, a lot of the pioneers of the industry have aged out.

Replaced by overwhelming majority lesser talented, inexperienced developers.

The brain drain is a real issue in tech, generally speaking.

A lot of senior guys retiring without knowledge transfer.
Click to expand...

This is correct. But I wanna add some of my thoughts as well.

I'm playing old Baldur's Gate games from old Bioware these days. Do you know what I saw: I saw passion. When the credits roll you can see the founders of Bioware Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka worked on different things on these games (sound, design etc. etc.). You can see their excitement from that believe me.

I'm not a nostalgic person mind you but what old games got is this: Passion. The developers are developers but they are also gamers. That is so obvious. That makes these games are damn good. Didn't they have problems. Lots of. But you can ignore most of them compare to love and passion they show.

And now we come to "modern" times. From the majority of western studious we don't see any passion and love for what they are doing. I'm suspecting that lots of developers are not even gamers like us. They fixated on DEI shit, political agenda that games become propaganda tools for them. What about fun and excitement? To hell with them! Body type A and B is much more important. The surgery scars are much more important. Them/they much more important.

Every time when I say brain rot and virus took a hold of these so called game developers I really mean it. Their purpose is not bring a fun game to us. Their purpose is pure corruption. These so called developers really become Drow themselves.

That is why I don't expect anything good from these clowns. But I'm adding: I want to be so wrong about this.
 
Last edited:
This is fulfilling the checklist
  • Take 10+ years to develop.
  • Spending around $300m on developing and marketing
  • Struggle to sell 1-2million copies at full price
  • Give the game away for nothing less than a year after release
  • ✅Claim its a great success!!!
 
Last edited:
mdkirby said:
This sort of nonsense is now forever gonna make me think of this quote from expedition 33's publisher:

"I think that there's been a lot of irresponsible practices in the industry," he said. "Some games can make it work. Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to make it work, I think we can all say with great confidence. But there are plenty of games made with very large teams and for huge amounts of money that don't land, and there is a human cost to running things that way. People lose their jobs."
Click to expand...
The quoted portion is right on the money.
 
The question rather is: Will they treat Andromeda as fan fiction and go with one of the ME3 endings, or will they treat Andromeda as canon?
 
I remember the anticipation for Mass Effect 2. I remember going to the store the first thing in the morning to get it, and being giddy walking home.

A part of me don't understand how Bioware still stands, yet I hold out hope that they can revive the magic, even if the people who made that happen have left a long time ago.
 
I'd blame this fucking guy "jason schreier" for his reports on crunch and toxic work places then id sprinkle in some gamergate bullshit.. these things single handedly destroyed game development with his white knight mentality.
 
Complistic said:
As the biggest Mass Effect fan once upon a time, I would never consider buying a new Mass Effect from "Bioware" these days. This doesn't make it out of pre production.
Click to expand...
I agree with you here. Glad it's in pre-production hell. Buys time to have mass layoffs at the studio and re-do the staff.
 
j0hnnix said:
I'd blame this fucking guy "jason schreier" for his reports on crunch and toxic work places then id sprinkle in some gamergate bullshit.. these things single handedly destroyed game development with his white knight mentality.
Click to expand...
He may be self-aggrandizing and irritating, but he's really not that important, nor does he (or any games journalist) have that much power.

The game isn't in preproduction because they're trying to avoid crunch. It's in preproduction because they have no idea how to make the IP successful again, and Dragon Age likely has EA skeptical whether they should even give the studio another shot.
 
j0hnnix said:
I'd blame this fucking guy "jason schreier" for his reports on crunch and toxic work places then id sprinkle in some gamergate bullshit.. these things single handedly destroyed game development with his white knight mentality.
Click to expand...
Jason Schrier has nothing to do with terrible general and program management at BioWare.

They can't figure this shit out creatively and then their PMs can't make things happen. That has nothing to do with any journalists but everything to do with utter management failure at EA.

This failure also extends to hiring incompetent creative talent.
 
mdkirby said:
This sort of nonsense is now forever gonna make me think of this quote from expedition 33's publisher:

"I think that there's been a lot of irresponsible practices in the industry," he said. "Some games can make it work. Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to make it work, I think we can all say with great confidence. But there are plenty of games made with very large teams and for huge amounts of money that don't land, and there is a human cost to running things that way. People lose their jobs."
Click to expand...
Too bad most of those problems go ignored or get dismissed by people at the top.

I really think its about time to rethink who gets to occupy the seats at these c-suites in the west. A thorough audit should be done. Clearly, some of these c-folks at the big pubs have opened up/invited more problems and made some unimaginative/questionable choices in terms of what projects they greenlit, and didn't, plus how they managed them. Now some of these pubs find themselves in a situation where questions are being raised whether they still have the ability to deliver a successful product, or not, that resonates with people.

To paraphrase Legendary drops, these c-level folks have essentially become "gambling addicts" (timestamped) themselves. The problem though is that they're playing with established legacy studios, the people and their livelihood within, like casino chips at a roulette table. To add another layer of irony, this mentality is also reflected in some of the big games they ship, which come packed with microtransactions and the like to pinch gamers for what they're worth.

j0hnnix said:
I'd blame this fucking guy "jason schreier" for his reports on crunch and toxic work places then id sprinkle in some gamergate bullshit.. these things single handedly destroyed game development with his white knight mentality.
Click to expand...
Unwarranted and nonsensical activism in gaming journalism definitely played a role in it. It shifted focus and altered development cultures within these studios. They'll refuse to take any accountability for it though. AAA game dev used to be a space for hardcore and ambitious creators. Now? I'd question that.
 
Last edited:
I only liked the first game anyway, Bioware went downhill since then. I have higher expectations for Osiris Reborn or Exodus.
 
Last edited:
StereoVsn said:
Jason Schrier has nothing to do with terrible general and program management at BioWare.

They can't figure this shit out creatively and then their PMs can't make things happen. That has nothing to do with any journalists but everything to do with utter management failure at EA.

This failure also extends to hiring incompetent creative talent.
Click to expand...
The state of EA is on Andrew Wilson. I don't know what his strategy is but I do know that EA's non-EA Sports stuff has been in decline for over a decade now.
 
Still in preproduction?!

This isn't coming out any earlier than 2030, and that's being optimistic. I'd put my money on 2032, a full 12 years after the official reveal.

Space agencies have designed, built and launched probes in less time.
 
We learned recently that the mass effect team was pulled in to help Veilguard get over the finish line. So it's reasonable to assume that came at the expense of progressing development on the new mass effect.

Recall as well that they apparently worked on the last portion of Veilguard, which in even the most critical reviews was acknowledged to be the best part of that game.

Anyway, there's hope. Not much but, tiny little bit of hope.
 
WoJ said:
I wouldn't even want them to continue the story of the main trilogy. That story has been told. I'm grateful for what we got in this series.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the teaser with the original cast already happened. On the bright side, it's their best way of their writers having a safe parachute because they'll be dealing with a cast that has a storied history, and they just have to continue it.

So even if they write-in a new companion character who is a caricature or audience lecturer, at least they can fall back on the original cast if that new character falls flat. Of course that's still not a guarantee, but at least it's starting from an advantage.

My own personal satisfaction will come from the fact that the red ending in 3 will be made cannon. That was always the best ending to me, and the reapers deserved to be destroyed.
 
The entire studio has been purged and there aren't that many people left there. Development will be very slow and I have a feeling they will just shut the whole thing down eventually.
 
Might as well merge this with the "beloved franchises that are now dead" thread, where multiple people (myself included) said Mass Effect was finished. This isn't coming out. Not a chance.
 
Zannegan said:
He may be self-aggrandizing and irritating, but he's really not that important, nor does he (or any games journalist) have that much power.

The game isn't in preproduction because they're trying to avoid crunch. It's in preproduction because they have no idea how to make the IP successful again, and Dragon Age likely has EA skeptical whether they should even give the studio another shot.
Click to expand...
This
 
NoEmki7uy8tE7IL7.jpg

It was announced almost 5 years ago and they are still "figuring out what the game is going to be"?

How do you work on a game for half a decade and you haven't even figured that out? Like what have they done every day at work for 5 years?
Surely there's some time left in between runs to get overpriced soy spirulina lattes and making slides for the 2 mandatory weekly DEI seminars.
 
Fbh said:
NoEmki7uy8tE7IL7.jpg

It was announced almost 5 years ago and they are still "figuring out what the game is going to be"?

How do you work on a game for half a decade and you haven't even figured that out? Like what have they done every day at work for 5 years?
Surely there's some time left in between runs to get overpriced soy spirulina lattes and making slides for the 2 mandatory weekly DEI seminars.
Click to expand...
e87a9356-ea87-4cbb-9154-445cb04691ce.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

EA is restructuring Bioware to focus on Mass Effect 5
News Game Dev  2 3 4
195
13K
mayham2199 replied
What are your expectations for the next Mass Effect game?
2
92
563
Hudo replied
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is in production
2
70
528
Boss Mog replied
Should I buy Mass Effect: Andromeda?
Drama  2
88
4K
Solarstrike replied
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn devs Owlcat Games welcome all the Mass Effect comparisons
Opinion Game Dev 
16
236
mayham2199 replied
Top Bottom