According to a report from video game website Kotaku, sources familiar with the behind the scenes situation report that the Mass Effect series has been put on hiatus by developer Bioware. The development team behind the latest game, 'Mass Effect Andromeda', has also been reassigned by the studio.
Details on the situation
BioWare has turned much of BioWare Montreal, the studio who developed 'Mass Effect: Andromeda', into a support studio. They will work on BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts (EA) other projects. In April, a number of employees at BioWare Montreal were transferred to go work at EA Motive, to help work on the upcoming 'Star Wars Battlefront II.'
Others at BioWare Montreal will help support BioWare's other games, including the next 'Dragon Age' game, which many expect to be 'Dragon Age 4.' They will also help with Bioware's new IP, code-named 'Dylan', which some expect to be announced at this year's EA Play Event.
Those remaining at Bioware Montreal will work on supporting and patching multiplayer for the game. At this point, it is unknown what the future of DLC for 'Andromeda' will be.
This does not mean that the Mass Effect series is dead, as it is highly unlikely BioWare would kill off their best-known video game series. It does seem to cast serious doubt on 'Andromeda' getting a follow-up anytime soon since the staff is not being put to work on a sequel right away.
For developer BioWare Montreal, it could mean that they may not get another shot to head development of a game for a while, if at all.
Why did this happen?
'Mass Effect: Andromeda' was the first game to headed by developer BioWare Montreal, who had previously worked on DLC and multiplayer for Mass Effect 2 and 3.
It was also their first time working with the Frostbite engine, so there was inexperience all around.
Then there were the expectations around the game. By the time Andromeda released, it had been five years since the last game in the franchise, 'Mass Effect 3.' The ending to that game left many gamers angry and unhappy.
Now, this new game was leaving behind everything in the original trilogy for something new.
This left many unsure how to feel about this new game, especially when details were sparse for much of its development.
Despite EA CEO Andrew Wilson telling investors he was happy with the Bioware and 'Mass Effect', it is fair to wonder how true this is. A few months ago when talking about Q3 financial results, EA executive Blake Jorgensen said he expected 'Andromeda' to sell 3 million units in the first week.
While there are not official sales number for 'Andromeda', it is fair to speculate that it did not meet these sales expectations based on what happened to BioWare Montreal.
Lastly, there was the reception that 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' received. The game was available to play prior to launch as part of EA Access and promptly got torn apart by the internet for its animations and glitches. The game then released to lukewarm reviews, unlike the high marks the games in the original trilogy received. Both of these factors likely turned off some from buying the game right away.
