Next Mass Effect Could Have Had "Level of Autonomy and Choice That No Other Game Has Been Able to Match"
BioWare was inspired by Larian and CD PROJEKT RED but won't be able to realize its ideas anymore.
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The news of EA shutting down BioWare hit the industry hard, and the world lost Mass Effect 5 – something we should all mourn because, according to Tony de Waal, BioWare's cinematic supervisor, it was supposed to have "a level of autonomy and choice that no other game has been able to match."
He believes the team was "making something special," inspired by Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 and CD PROJEKT RED's Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher. The studio aimed to "bring Mass Effect to the next level while remaining true to the trilogy," de Waal said on LinkedIn.
"I'm sad you won't ever get to see what we were cooking, and sad for the small, talented group of devs who were all punching above their weight to make something special. Please consider those who stayed with BioWare until the very end. They are truly some of the most talented people I've had the pleasure of working with throughout my career."
The developer started his career at BioWare about 30 years ago, left after Mass Effect 2, and returned in 2021 to help with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the company's last game in the series, which was heavily criticized for its plot and gameplay.
Now, we won't know whether BioWare could have returned to its past glory, though players hope that another studio might pick up its IPs.
David Gaider, the writer behind the Dragon Age franchise, also said his goodbyes on Bluesky: "As much as it's not really a surprise, especially given the industry right now coupled with the Saudi sale, the news today still made me sad. BioWare joins other great studios of the past, with a legacy that will not soon be forgotten."
"Say what you will about BioWare but, at its height, it was the best at what it did and I'm very honoured to have trained and worked with some of the finest folks in the industry. I've been away 10 years now, but I'll always be glad for my time there."
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