According to new filings, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is set to own the vast majority of EA if the proposed record-breaking acquisition goes through.
Despite EA’s controversial acquisition, it seems that BioWare is still alive and well. What’s more exciting is the fact that they pretty much confirmed that the new Mass Effect game is still in development.
In a recent blog post to commemorate BioWare’s annual Mass Effect celebration, executive producer Mike Gamble reassures fans that the next Mass Effect game is still in development.
“Like you, we’ve heard the rumors lately. You’ve made it clear you care deeply about what’s next,” Gamble said. “So let’s start by setting the record straight: the next Mass Effect game is in development, and EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe.”
He then went on to say that right now, their team at BioWare is focused on Mass Effect alone. However, he didn’t have any screenshots, trailer, or gameplay to show.
Instead, he jokingly teases fans who are trying hard to look for secret meaning in his tweets, to which he added that some of them actually have a secret meaning from time to time.
“We’re excited by what we’re building, and we promise you: when we’re ready, it’ll be a lot of fun to show,” Gamble teases.
Despite the lack of meaty details, this is no doubt a sign that BioWare might just avoid a sellout. This is after analysts speculated that it might be a prime candidate for a sellout following EA and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund deal.
At the same time, even though Gamble said there’s not a lot of stuff to show, we might be seeing substantial teases in the near future.
For example, if you look at the blog post, you’ll notice a bunch of italicized letters that might seem random at first. But if you look closely, those letters form the phrase “url krogan.”
And, if you’re a solid Mass Effect fan, you’d know that the Krogan is an alien species in the Mass Effect franchise. However, what it might point to, we have no clue. Fans will surely try to put every piece of the puzzle together to find something noteworthy.
Gamble also talks about the upcoming Mass Effect TV series, which they are partnering with Amazon for. Other than that, there’s really not a lot of details for us to uncover.
For now, the only solace is that we’ll hopefully be getting a new Mass Effect, and that BioWare will continue to remain as one of EA’s major assets once the acquisition is concluded.
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It’s easy to forget that today is N7 Day, especially with all the delays happening in the industry. Nevertheless, Mass Effect executive producer Mike Gamble returned to set “the record straight,” and reiterate that the next Mass Effect is indeed still in development. “EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe,” likely referring to reports about developers being worried about the studio’s future.
Noting that the last few years were an “incredibly busy time at BioWare” (which released Dragon Age: The Veilguard last year), Gamble said the team is currently “heads-down and focused exclusively on Mass Effect. We have a lot of universe to cover, lots of features to build, and lots of romances to figure out.
“We’re excited by what we’re building, and we promise you: when we’re ready, it’ll be a lot of fun to show. Until then, thank you for your patience because y’all are thirsty for news and I see you looking for secret meaning in my tweets (okay, sometimes they have secret meaning).”
He also talked about the upcoming TV series which it’s partnering with Amazon on. Gamble says the writers’ room has “a lot figured out” about its place in the overall canon, especially “where it sits in respect to the new game.” However, don’t expect it to focus on Commander Shepard – it’s a “brand-new story” taking place after the original trilogy in the same timeline.
Gamble signed off with the disclaimer that there’s “no secret game information to be gleaned by anything I’m saying today, I promise.” What an odd thing to say.
Regardless, development on the next Mass Effect has certainly been proceeding at a snail’s pace. With BioWare restructured and focused on the project, however, perhaps we may see more progress in the coming months or years. Whatever happens, hopefully Jennifer Hale, the voice of Fem Shep, returns in some capacity.
