Any news about Mass Effect Andromeda 2 ??

Yeah, I understand. To both.

My expectations are along the lines of:

2019 - No ME news. Anthem. DA4 news. --- ANTHEM YEAR
2020 - No or little ME news. DA4. Anthem updates continue. --- DA4 YEAR
2021 - Little or some ME news. Anthem updates may continue. DA4 updates continue. (a 'live service' year)
2022 - We know by this time whether Mass Effect is coming or not, or whether they'll do some Anthem 2 or somesuch. Release this year? Or 2023? Or 2024?

Early-to-mid 2020s Mass Effect if at all, most likely to me. Next gen, cross gen at least. They squandered the shot at a Montreal made MEA2 for around 2020, and if it goes later than mid-2020s, which is doubtful for franchise potential, we may be talking absolute reboot, remake of trilogy, whatever.

I have the strong feeling it depends on Anthem. Part of why so much is being devoted to it. It does poorly, all is at risk. It does okay, I don't know. It does well, Mass Effect may come. It does absolutely fantastic, a gigantic moneymaker Bioware may become the Anthem studio, even to the point of leaving DA behind.

ME3 saves applied to DLC, which technically did address the ending (Extended Cut) and campaign progress (the others, but especially Citadel). Perhaps they had plans for a more plot impactful DLC than Citadel, but we got Citadel and it used our kept saves.

Mass Effect Archives added that choice timeline, yes. I do expect any next game (that isn't a far away reboot or remake), to utilize this feature to color the game with references, nods, and extents of consequences, less or more like DAI did, without the game hinging on it (as arguably ME2 almost did, and ME3 significantly did). A direct MEA sequel isn't looking too likely now IMO, but I'd be pretty surprised if Bioware decided to leave all the plot of MEA behind. Its easy to imagine another adventure with another protagonist, but somewhat like DAI, using mission arcs to address both loose threads from MEA and returning concepts from MET (we're past the 'fresh start' phase; I expect nostalgiabucks even if not a full return to Shepard's Story).

I think they're most likely to do a fresh environment (at least mostly, and not counting expansions), with a fresh story, but utilize tools and fanbase to fill that out with references or even some relevance of older games. They did the 'fresh start' with MEA and there's no need to do that again, so I can see an even 'newer start' but this start not being so exclusively fresh. Newer as in an even newer approach than Pathfinder to N7, or Tempest to Normandy, or Nexus to Citadel, or Kett/Remnant to Reapers, but allowing references and relevance to be more direct when they do happen. Our Ryder and co. come from the Milky Way. Enough time or events could pass, for all we know, that we could play someone NOT from the Milky Way, or at least has various ways of being even less tied to it.

Expand into the Andromeda galaxy or elsewhere, but keep more of the past alongside. Salvage as much of a MEA2 as they can handle, but being okay now if any particular thing is determined to be something they can't handle. As in, such a new direction on what would be a MEA2, that it isn't MEA2. They'll know there's still a lot of more silent gamers that like and appreciate material from MEA so they wouldn't actually drop everything from that game, but I don't at all expect to be in the Tempest again with mostly same characters and Ryder protagonist. Not based on EA communications so far, at least. And there's enough talk of communications, bridging, and returning elements from the MET in MEA (IMO) that I only see such things increasing, even if we wouldn't get a 'returning only to MW and MW issues' game.

Even DA2 had most of its plot relate to DAI, even if in not necessarily the smoothest ways. Even DAO set a lot of the tone and characters of DAI, even if in rarely necessary ways. Yes MET is another beast, so I don't expect the same thing, but I do think Mass Effect has at least gotten past its supposedly required new start phase, and it can get to the meatier stuff that we see hinted or started throughout, but almost never followed through within MEA itself.


TLDR I think they could do a more true soft reboot (that is, super new but clearly part of a continuity) than MEA tried to be. MEA, in my opinion, was too stuck in the mud of escaping and not offending people too much about ME3.

As has already been stated, Bioware telling people via social media to hold onto their saves locally, and bioware as a developer putting in work to facilitate that save data access on their end isn't the same thing. Even more so when that feature went live well after Bioware Montreal ceased to exist.

It's not a confirmation that a mass effect game is going to happen, it is however a sign EA sees value in the IP beyond just burying it and forgetting about it.

My money is on a complete reboot of the Mass Effect series. Because by the time they get around to making another Mass Effect game, no one is going to care about the old Mass Effects; We're likely looking at a 6-10 year gap until we hear anything about Mass Effect again.

Plus a reboot would be more risky than MEA2.

Anything is possible, but I think it would be a mistake since both Mass Effect and Dragon Age are about the story and rebooting it really won't improve upon the original releases unlike a game that is based more on mechanics and systems.  I don't go out and buy a novel over again because they released a new version with a new cover for I own a previous printing and I can go back to that and get the same out of it as buying it again.  Combine that with things that people might not like such as changing choices or events that might be liked or enjoyed as they are now, it just seems really risky over releasing something new without the baggage of being compared to what happened before.

If that's the case, we'll be waiting forever.

I think a lot of people don’t get what reboot means. A reboot of ME would be like the Kelvin timeline of Star Trek. Very different but also the same and we’d get the same result if not worse from the fan base. Very split opinions. Very risky move.

To me its a fresh start and not aimed at anyone in particular.  The thing is the population will need to be willing to accept the reboot might not be what they remember about the first take on the game and to me that is something that should concern EA or BioWare if they are remotely thinking of this option.  To me that is why the reboot of Tomb Raider in 2014 worked out the way it did was because people were willing to accept the new Lara Croft and I am just not sure if people would be willing to have a Shepard that doesn't function like they did in the first three Mass Effect games.