MEA DLC never planned?

Noone says they're planning on SP heavy games in the foreseeable future. And there's continuing the series and continuing the series - MMO style. Maybe with an SP apendix.

My reading, from official and unofficial personal sources*, is that there was earlier consideration of DLCs and beyond (Mass Effect Archives used for more), but as the development fell apart making the game happen, these were stripped down and decided to not happen, barring perhaps some big success for MEA sales. But the default being a scale back, focus on MP, and keeping an eye out for the continuous reception.

I still think SP DLC was possible, but I do think it was also very possible we would get none. Bioware sounded very prepared to go either way, opting for a negative for the time being, in my opinion. The studio dissolving likely being the biggest factor.

So yes, 'cutting losses'. Maybe this means no more Mass Effect games ever, but so far, I'll only necessarily take it as something closer to a deliberate break while putting out Anthem and Dragon Age. If Montreal succeeded better and kept open, I'd be much more confident DLC would have happened and a game coming 2020-2021 latest. Now I can just hope that the side media is nice and that a game still, unlikely, comes out 2020-2021 (but more likely 2022-2023 in reality).

'On ice' really may be the right term. It doesn't sound, currently, as dead as say a Jade Empire (oh but they'd sure like to make another one! /s), and hopefully not as dead as a legit KOTOR3, but it isn't the current priority. Anthem is a must for the brand (sadly) and Dragon Age is a must for the series, then they figure out what to do with Mass Effect. Maybe they do prototyping and conceptualizing in the meantime - of course.

If Casey Hudson is indeed in charge of a lot and he's not secretly super dead about the series continuing (its quite possible he is), there's a shot at a return to Mass Effect, and a game that has a SP campaign with SP DLC, or at least a reliable SP/'offline' mode. The brains keeping account of things might realize that its more a matter of a rushed and shaky product than a lack of appetite for Mass Effect. Sure there's the people who just say 'move on', and they have good points, but they're not the majority of the audience and at that point (2020s) there will be a whole other audience available.


*Sorry, I don't mean to gloat, I just have a tidbit or two that indicated to me that there at least WAS intention to make DLC and another game sooner than later, but that this was scuttled to a small to large extent, perhaps pre-launch too.

Remember ME3? Galactic readiness being tied to MP?

They may be aware that not everyone is into MP, but does that stop them from aggressively promoting it by shoving it down your throat, if you want the whole game? I would say no.

ME1 - Late 10s
ME2 - Late 10s/Early 20s
ME3 - Early 20s
...
MEA - Late 20s
...
MEA2/? - I hoped for Late 20s/Early 30s, but now have to prepare for Early 30s/Mid 30s, if ever

Disappointing that I associate my teens with the apex of the series, but my 20s with the stumbles (ME3 ending, MEA generally spread out). I guess I can only hope that it'll still exist in my 30s, as a proper rebirth.


My plan for ME is:
2017 - Finish MEA NG+ Insanity run, Finish definitive ME3 NG++ Insanity run, MEA MP to Silver/Uncommon mastery.
2018 - Absorb MET nostalgia. Maybe a trilogy FemShep. Reviewing all MET books. That sorta thing. And finally, maybe move on from it. Perhaps ME3 MP grind if its still active at all on PC (ha!)
2019 - Absorb MEA and move on from it. Get better PC hardware to play it on max. Review all MEA side media. Play as SisRyder for 1-2 playthroughs. Perhaps MEA MP grind to Gold/Rare or above if its still active at all on PC (unlikely?)

2020 - Where is my game.
2021 - Where is my game!

So Bioware, you got my attention through my 20s, but I dunno if I'll give a damn after. lol

Great DLC for MEA would turn my 7/10 (lightly given after the patches though) to a 8/10. I would have liked that.

So what?

I'll be 60 if that happens. If.

man we should drink a beer , you must have gaming stories to tell! (i am 36 now)

bioware flat out said they planned to continue the story in multiplayer and novels. they could have simply phrased that paragraph differently, but they deliberately emphasized that this was decided early on in development. unless people want to argue that bioware is flat out lying then yes, they never actually planned any dlc

Being 40+ changes nothing honestly. I'm stronger and in better shape now than when I was in my 20's. I think age only comes in to play with twitch shooters.

Mostly pen and paper and a bit of point and click adventures on the first PCs.

Opening a beer keg right now! Guys bring the wooden mugs!

I think its less lying, and more using particular wording.

I can't really share here, but I had indications that DLC ideas, concepts, testing was a thing that was being done, but unlike other titles, there wasn't a secure agreement that there would be full development and release of them. So it is technically true that they designed MEA for the core game story and content, and novels and comics, and APEX MP updates... they just may have designed it also to perhaps have more.

In this case, its less a scrapping of DLC (though in a sense that as well), and more a scrapping of ongoing plans of potential DLC. Something seen a while coming by a studio knowing that they'll be shutting down in months.

It sounds to me like designers would have loved to do more content, but management and ownership had the say, and this secured plan was the intention for at least most of the months post-launch, maybe all the months and before.

But sure, I think they'd have seen the launch and post-launch metrics and had other developers (Austin? Edmonton?) on a standby in case there's some surprising demand for DLC. Why wouldn't they? They're EA. But it wouldn't have been expected, and wouldn't have been Bioware Montreal. Both of those points being big strikes against chances.


I think its a very new thing for a Bioware RPG to not get story DLC and they were just preparing themselves either way even if there was an earlier decision (or rather managerial inclination made a directive to everyone) to not expect DLC production.

Any hooks we have in MEA, while to US can be seen as clear DLC hooks, can still technically be done in MP (barf) updates, secondary media, and another game with or without Ryder. Maybe not ideal, okay in my opinion it isn't ideal at all, but there was nothing to say it can't happen.