Mass Effect
Mass Effect Andromeda’s impending release was a source of great excitement. The series had forged a reputation as one of the RPG genre’s greatest and it held iconic status as developer BioWare’s most accomplished achievements. Who could possibly have predicted that rather than talking about the series bright new direction, 12 months down the line we would instead be questioning the franchise’s very existence?
Launching to mediocre critical reception, exacerbated by wonky facial animations that caught the attention of the gaming community, Andromeda caused a stir for all the wrong reasons. Even beyond those somewhat exaggerated graphical shortcomings, though, Andromeda failed to replicate the narrative nuances and character development of the predecessor titles. Much of Andromeda felt like retreading familiar ground rather than constructing the brave new direction its storyline would suggest.
It seems EA has not been impressed with Andromeda’s performance from a business perspective, either. Whether due to sales falling below forecasted expectation or to give the IP some breathing room after its unpopular reception, EA has opted not to greenlight a new Mass Effect title. While we doubt that this means waving goodbye to Mass Effect forever, BioWare Montreal’s recent reduction to a support studio means there won’t likely be another game in the series for quite some time. Considering the lengthy production time of Andromeda, it is unlikely we will see the Mass Effect franchise until at least the next console generation.
