If Mass Effect Comes Back, It Has to be 'Fresh and Exciting'

Mass Effect: Andromeda hasn't had a good run, something we can say confidently after news like how future single-player content has been scrapped, or anything else from the messy saga that saw the restructuring and then merging of developer BioWare Montreal. At Gamescom however, EA's Executive Vice President Patrick Söderlund said that Mass Effect at the very least, Mass Effect isn't dead just yet.

Talking to GameReactor, Söderlund that "for Mass Effect as a franchise, that has such a big fanbase, and you know I've seen people saying 'Oh, EA's not making another Masse Effect.' I see no reason why we shouldn't come back to Mass Effect. Why not? It's a spectacular universe, it's a loved [series], it has a big fanbase, and it's a game that has done a lot for EA and for BioWare."

Söderlund's one caveat however is that if and when Mass Effect come back, it has to be from a "fresh, exciting place."

So breaking down Söderlund's statement, it sounds like at this point in time Mass Effect is definitely in cryo-sleep, but he's right when he says Mass Effect is a big franchise for the company. While I'm sure there will be a future Mass Effect game at some point BioWare has its plate full right now focusing on Anthem and a new Dragon Age.

So while Mass Effect: Andromeda's success could maybe have meant more DLC or a sped-up sequel, BioWare's other projects were still in the pipeline. However, it's clear that the critical and commercial failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda stung, and wherever the next Mass Effect series goes next, it will have to do better than the most recent outing.