On Mass Effect 2s anniversary, what do we know about the next game?Adam StarkeyPublished January 27, 2025 6:06pmUpdated January 27, 2025 6:07pm Liara is the only character weve seen so far (BioWare)As Mass Effect 2 celebrates its 15th anniversary, we look into why the new game is taking so long and whether it will ever be out.BioWares history is built on a wealth of critically-acclaimed role-playing games, including Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 and Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, but for many its magnum opus is the original Mass Effect trilogy.The sci-fi series debuted in 2007 (it was an Xbox 360 exclusive at first) but it was its sequel which elevated the series to super stardom. The third entry isnt quite so revered, thanks to its controversial ending, but the subsequent quality drop with fourth entry Mass Effect: Andromeda helped make Mass Effect 3s faults look marginal by comparison.As the series high point, Mass Effect 2 celebrates its 15th anniversary this week (it was first released in the US on January 26, but it didnt arrive in Europe until January 29), and with a fifth entry in the works, weve assembled every nugget of information out there on what will hopefully be the Normandy crews big comeback.When was Mass Effect 4 announced?After years of rumours, BioWare announced a new Mass Effect game on November 7 (aka N7 Day) in 2020, with a piece of concept art. At the time, the studios then-vice president Casey Hudson said the team was in early stages of the project.A veteran team has been hard at work envisioning the next chapter of the Mass Effect universe, Hudson said. We are in early stages on the project and cant say any more just yet, but were looking forward to sharing our vision for where well be going next.A month later, the team debuted a short trailer at The Game Awards which shows original trilogy character Liara TSoni picking up some N7 armour. The tagline at the end of the trailer promises Mass Effect will continue.What have we heard about Mass Effect 4 since?In April 2022, BioWare shared a blog post where it said the next Mass Effect is now early in development. The studio implied it would still be a few years away yet, telling players that its going to be a while before we can talk about it in more detail.The studio also released a creepy audio teaser later in 2022, where Liara is heard having a conversation with the Geth. In the following year, BioWare clarified that it was still in pre-production with a core team of veteran storytellers, with no indication of when well see anything substantial, as it moved its focus towards Dragon Age: The Veilguard.For N7 Day in 2023, the studio shared more concept art and a brief 35 second teaser showing a female character walking down a hallway in an N7 jacket. Again, it was all very vague on actual details, with the assumption that the game is still at least a few years away.Mass Effect franchise director Mike Gamble has commented a few times on the upcoming sequel too, stating it will still have a photorealistic look compared to Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and will maintain the mature tone of the original trilogy a reference to Veilguards more cartoonish approach, which was not popular with fans.In the years since Mass Effect 4 (most fans would prefer to forget Andromeda) was announced, several senior staff members have left BioWare, including boss Casey Hudson, Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, and Mass Effect lead writer Mac Walters.In January 2025, Dragon Age: The Veilguard director Corinne Busche also departed the studio after being presented with an opportunity I couldnt turn down.Recently, Darrah claimed in a video on his YouTube channel that the next Mass Effect isnt ready to suddenly have a team of 250/300 people working on it following the launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.He added: In the past when BioWare was toying with being on just one project, like on Anthem or The Veilguard, that project was up and running at full speed so it was able to suck in every available resource, it had enough existing infrastructure that it was able to absorb everything.Thats not exactly whats happening [with Mass Effect 4]. You see this when you go on to peoples social media profiles. People who worked on The Veilguard, some of them are going onto Mass Effect, but some of them are moving into other parts of the EA organisation because Mass Effect isnt ready for them.Are there any rumours about Mass Effect 4s release date?While nothing has been officially announced, insider Jeff Grubb claimed in 2023 that the game is just nowhere near coming out suggesting it might not be released until 2029.More TrendingConsidering weve had no confirmation that it has moved beyond pre-production, theres a chance it might be even further away. The next hope for an update will likely be Summer Game Fest later this year, or the annual N7 day on November 7, 2025. So even news about the next game is likely to be a long way off Who is this mysterious figure? 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