Mass Effect '5' speculation (Official Thread)

to move a bit away from rankings

What is know about Bioware's release schedule, studio availability and such?

Once Anthem is out, only a small team will remain to do expansions/DLC etc.
Most of the people behind it will move to a new game which is rumored to be a new Dragon Age.

Would Mass Effect be in line afterwards or has Bioware other games/franchises lined up maybe on EA's behalf?

Since Bioware Montreal was "dissolved" and partially integrated into EA something in Montreal, is it only Bioware Edmonton and Bioware Austin working on their games?

So far I go with:
-It would be Edmonton, no new studio opened
-Anthem support would continue for anywhere from a year to several years, depending on success, then perhaps a sequel put into production; it is current-gen but may port to next-gen
-Dragon Age is in the works, and will be the focus of development next year; it is current-gen but will port up to next-gen (as opposed to DAI being 'next-gen' but downgraded to fit 'current gen')
-Mass Effect is intended enough to hint strongly at, but not in any 'real' production until at least a couple years from now; it will be next-gen
-'Live Service' taken increasingly seriously, so every title (Anthem, Dragon Age, Mass Effect) has dedicated support of varying sizes depending on game/platform status, instead of just a few to several months of post-launch patching and DLC
-Anthem 2019, DA 2020-2021, ME 2021-2023 (possibly leaning later, so 4-5 years wait, but crossing fingers for 3)

Just all guesses.

Not all ME3 squad were well written imo, and they didn't feel like a family at all (which was fine for this one; I bought into the suicide mission concept). More like a story of Shepard making pals or associates, but focused on their relationship with Shepard specifically. That a few of them started associations with the others and then formed implicit bond through surviving Omega-4 Relay, is another thing.

I liked the general exploration. I'd take a MEA2 that did similarly but with more open levels than ME2 (hub and otherwise).

ME2 actually focused a lot on combat, so I don't know what you mean. It was a big part of their sequel upgrade.

Harbinger I'm iffy on. It felt like they had more thoughts about what he could be, but settled on him being a mysterious personal menace until later (but then ME3 downplayed him for whatever reason).

I still think it is the best single ME game but I think it made plenty of small to moderate mistakes in fitting into the series (both in following up from ME1 and in prepping for a trilogy conclusion). It also doesn't have a number of small refinements ME3 has that make me personally like that one more (at least when I ignore/bypass the ending).

I love ME2 it's always number 1 for me with ME3 tied or second. They are my favorites.

Are you really being honest with yourself here? MEA's crew go out of their way on several occasions to blow you off. Of all the games that Bioware has made it feels like (to me at least) MEA's crew is the most distant/defiant from/towards the protagonist.

Yes, I am being honest with myself. Nowhere in ME2 did the team ever feel like a family, let alone the closest to it. 

The one-on-ones and ambient dialogue, as awkwardly designed as they could be, were closer in emotion than any Shepard or Normandy ones.
I believed the Tempest was close by the end, even if I think it was still too rapid.

ME1 felt more like a bunch of people who see Shepard as an elevated figure, which the sequels acknowledge. They could side-eye each other but they had to keep moving.
ME2 felt more like a bunch of people on a mission, that feel a more rapid sort of war-bond after the Suicide Mission, but still centered around Shepard. They could snipe at each other but Shepard brought them together for a thing.
ME3 then pushed a sort of combat-forged bond between everyone, to varying extents, enough to have that Citadel party (like that DLC or not). They could disagree but everything depended on this war.

MEA people were both more passively rude to each other, *and* more willing to forgive and accept each other by the end, no galaxy-threat or god-Shepard required. They were just in the rocky boat together and made it work - and I find, personally, that's the most 'family' sense of any of the games. Ryder might be a major figure of the family, but not the only major one. You can believe that any one of the characters could leave to spend time with any of the others - something I'd barely believe until maybe near the end of ME3.

MEA's crew does blow off Ryder. For the first half of the game and then somewhat as a trait in 'Loyalty' missions. After that, I don't see the storyline having that. The previous games were more like the war-bond where everyone's intolerance is covered over, but this one was of a shared agenda and eventual (canonized) acceptance of who each other were. This led to more easy warmth and respect of each other by the end. They all had the 'dream' of Andromeda, in whatever form, so they all actively end up wanting to stay with each other, to make this dream something real.

That it was often depicted lamely, doesn't change the idea.

After ME1 and ME2 I easily agreed that with Shepard out/dead, the group basically falls apart. If some other thing puts Ryder out of commission, I don't think I'd agree that the Tempest would scatter to the winds. They would seek out a lost Ryder almost as actively as I think a post-ME3 Normandy would seek out a lost Shepard. But for Shepard it is widely more because of their import, while Ryder it would be because they're liked and appreciated, the opposite to what they started as.


You/players may not appreciate Ryder, but it is part of the story that others admire their gumption to keep pushing to unlock 'paths' for the Tempest, Nexus, and Initiative. Technically this is something a character didn't need to have, but the MWers hero, or 'pathfinder', did decide to have. For such a 'beta' (ugh) character, I think the point was that being generally agreeable to essentially good people with good intent, isn't a flaw but a boon in establishing good relations. Sure I would have wanted more dynamic characterization than that though.



I think the Normandy admires Shepard's deeds more than their character (though they admire both, depending). Shepard starts as an already rather imposing figure and everyone takes that and works with whatever Shep arranges, but Shep rarely arranged 'bonding'. I think it is intended that characters like (but not respect) Ryder's character more than their deeds (yet), and it is the surprising extent of the deeds accomplished by the end of the game, that unlocked their respect. So the Tempest crew more easily mills around finding connections, while Ryder keeps trying to make it a home more than a base. And it somewhat works, and the crew forms their bond. Or did you not do Movie Night.



Bioware decided they couldn't 'beat' Shepard, so they instead formed a basis of someone who might end up 'improving' on what Shepard was. Same with the crew. We don't see this improvement quite yet, but part of setting this improvement was in showing that the Tempest crew, while initially rude and somewhat turbulent for various reasons, otherwise fairly quickly syncs up and cares for each other equally. No 'why are Turians on this ship' or 'I will smear the walls with you, bitch!' etc, but a bunch of people that already believed in the same overall thing (even Jaal is one of the most friendly Angara to it) and so care to eventually make it work with each other (see: Cora's Krogan remark leading to her apologizing). Sure the ME3+ squads arguably still have the MEA beat, but I wouldn't say ME2 of all games was a 'family' ship. Whether by game design (limitations) or writing, the characters mostly stayed in their quarters and either cared just for Shep, or came to care about Shep and few others by the end - but not so much a ship of everyone tied to each other.

Well talking smack to Harbinger is always fun. If there is a New Player Character, I would like have a Cerberus Phantom Commander to give a Massive FU to Harbinger and tell him that Just because that Shepard is dead/injured it doesn't mean that Reapers are out of Dangerous that CPCommander is gunning for him personally.

Of course I would have an epic battle between Harbinger Avatar and Cerberus Phantom Commander in Dark Space and stopping them forever and go back into the past and stopping them before they start the Cycle at all.

Yes. Better than ME2 did at the very least.

Your father dies at the beginning of the game and it is established in the first few minutes that you barely had a relationship with him. Your twin is only awakened half way through the game and plays almost no significant role throughout the story and most family interaction are experienced through vivid flashbacks. Plus the entire team never takes anything serious, and undermines Ryder at every turn. How does that feel like family? Everyone, besides maybe Cora, never really expressed actual feelings. They were sarcastic almost 100% of the time. Nothing ever felt like a heart to heart. And when it did with Cora, all she wanted to talk about was her time with the Asari.   

The father dying and the twin being in the coma is the premise on which the game is built, an inexperienced Ryder has to earn the title of Pathfinder with no help from family. I am not sure what choices you made with the crew or your interactions with the Nexus hierarchy etc. but clearly in my 14 PT's of the game Ryder succeeded in earning not only the Nexus and crews respect but also their friendship. All my Ryder's crews by the end felt like family and their comments particularly at the end clearly articulate this, well they certainly did in my PT's however maybe your choices didn't enable that.

I maintain that ME2 is the best, mostly because it has Nos Astra on Illium. I want an apartment there. I want my bathroom to face the horizon, so I can do my duty while gazing upon the glorious sunset.

Anyway, I still think early 2024 will most likely be the earliest we will see a new Mass Effect.