In the wake of yesterday’s news that EA had shut down game developer BioWare and had cancelled the next “Mass Effect” game, something unexpected has happened.
A BioWare developer has seemingly leaked a two-minute in-engine trailer for the canceled project, titled “Mass Effect: Universe”. EA hasn’t confirmed its authenticity, but the clip doesn’t appear to contain AI hallmarks and respected games reporter Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has subsequently confirmed it’s real on Bluesky.
The trailer, mostly set around a scene in a bar, centers on a new human protagonist – a former military member – along with giving us a glimpse of the returning Liara as they confront another Asari.
There are glimpses of a sleek ship not unlike the Normandy, a Krogan, a Salarian and a Turian, along with biotic powers at work. The trailer feels less like a marketing preview than an internal pitch reel.
The trailer is reportedly all in-engine footage from “our small team” and mostly consists of pre-production assets as opposed to final game copy. BioWare was only 50 staff strong at the time of closure.
That said, it is very much in the style of the original franchise as opposed to a Veilguard-esque reinvention of the property. Sadly, EA has shown no indication it plans to sell off the IP – leaving the franchise dead in the water for now aside from Amazon’s live-action TV series adaptation which remains in development.
The trailer is still available up on the game’s Reddit board.
