When do you think Mass Effect will finally return?

Still waiting for my next Ultima and Wing Commander games.

< ... reads "opened your mouth" ... >

Welp, I didn't actually. I typed letters with my fingers.

So, Mr SmartyPants, who are you talking about then?

Really?

Because, this whole "us against the world" thing you Andromedrones have going for you (in your minds) is funny sad. Nobody would have been mad if the game was good.

Interesting examples. Star Wars has never been dead. It's a huge, always active IP. I've never played Mirror's Edge, though I thought I'd read that the second game was a commercial flop. I'd rather self-harm than watch Will & Grace, but it's the best example. It definitely rose from the abyss.

I hope you're correct. My feeling is that it is deep on the shelf, but I'd love to play another Mass Effect game. It's my favorite IP in all of gaming.

Hmm. A drone.

What do you think, am I a UAV, or a UCAV? UGV, perhaps?

You make a fine point.

I am all for the underdog, and I love impossible odds.

I guess this game is the exception. I am bitter, and yes I do indeed take it out on some of you sometimes. That is shitty.

Sorry.

I think they will start seriously working on one in 2-3 years (possibly scoping it sooner) and put in quite a bit of effort, probably 3-4 year development time from then. So anywhere between 5 and 7 years is my guess. It does depend somewhat on how Anthem and DA4 do along with the direction they want to take. If they scale back the open world part of it, the whole thing could be developed sooner.

Voted for 2020 myself & my reasons are this:

BW planned to continue the IP as an ongoing space opera, so, I'd say that they have an idea of where they ant to go with the story already & the only thing that is to be decided, the direction of the game is not the narrative, but the gameplay.
Does BW try open world again, this time with more content? Do they go back to the ME2/3 style? Do they turn it into a multiplayer first type of game, with just a short campaign (see CoD)? Do they do something else?

Once they have a direction in place, I'm sure they can put the game together rapidly, after all, wasn't this build of ME:A put together in less than 2 years?

Lastly, I believe that EA wants BW to be an annual release company (this is based on my own supposition, nothing else) & the sooner they can do that the better, for both them (cash) & the players (games they enjoy).

Just my opinion.

I believe I can fly!

2017 - Only if they shock us with DLC (NO)
2018 - Only if they shock us with a 'standalone' smaller game (NO)
2019 - Only if they're so serious about a continuing storyline of MEA (NO)
2020 - Only if they get on a sequel to MEA ASAP (MAYBE)
2021 - Soonest reasonable time to get a sequel to MEA in some sense (MAYBE)
2022 - Soonest reasonable time to get another game, 'sequel' to MEA or not (MAYBE)
2023 - Soft-reboot time (?)
2024 - Soft-reboot time (?)
2025 - Harder-reboot time (?)

Basically they could release something late 2010s but I wouldn't predict that at all, or they could release a follow up (to some degree) to MEA in early 2020s and that's the most likely to me, or they could try to return to the aging series in mid-to-late 2020s but I wouldn't expect MEA to apply much except as a background.

I'm *hoping* for a game by 2022. In 2018 we are supposedly getting Anthem (which will be relevant for at least a year or two after; I disregard any 'long year plans'), and in 2019 we may get DA4 (which will be relevant for at least a year after), so ~2021 I'll either want another sort of Bioware 'distraction' (in this regard) or another Mass Effect dammit. If they keep with Frostbite and the same overall 'console gen' for it, and don't get so sidetracked, I can see it being made quicker - 3-4 years max between games instead of ME3-MEA's 5. But it may depend on them giving a damn shortly before/during/after Anthem releases.

For all we know, Mass Effect is dead.
Or the 'on ice' narrative only means that they're getting to it as soon as current projects are done (so 2019-2020 beginning, instead of 2018).
Or the franchise is effectively 'asleep' but the heads are quite willing to get to it laterrrr (so sometime 2020s).

Never

Well, if MMOs count, Shroud of the Avatar is supposed to be in early access...