EA, the publisher behind games like Battlefield 6 and The Sims 4 and parent of Mass Effect developer BioWare, is on many a player’s mind right now following the $55 billion deal that saw its buyout – one that might spell disaster for Mass Effect 5, apparently.
Although we don’t know too much about the next Mass Effect game as BioWare has been too “busy” to share its progress, it’s been underway – or at least in some sort of pre-production state – since its reveal way back in 2020.
It’s safe to say that all of this doesn’t exactly inspire the greatest confidence in folks… and neither does the fact that a trio of private investors led by Saudi Arabia has just acquired EA, to put it lightly.
Former senior manager at EA Emmanuel Rosier, who now works as the director of market intelligence at industry analyst Newzoo, explains how he feels about BioWare following the recent buyout in a new interview with PC Gamer.
“They’ve been struggling as a studio, as a brand have been struggling in recent years, and I don’t know if they [EA] will keep funding that one,” he states. “I think that’s the biggest question mark for me.”
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So, what about Mass Effect 5, then? “I will believe it when I see it, the next Mass Effect game, let’s put it that way,” Rosier says. “I’ve worked many years with BioWare, sometimes it can stretch for years and years until something comes.” That checks out.
After all, Dragon Age: The Veilguard took nearly a decade to develop – and also suffered a rework of sorts as well. It’s hard to tell what’ll happen with the new Mass Effect, put simply.
“I think everything can happen at this moment,” as Rosier concludes. “They [EA] can pull the plug very, very easily. And if the new investors, they don’t have that many feelings about the history of the portfolio, they will take the most financially sound decision most probably.”
I hate to say it, but I do fear the former EA lead is right here – anything could happen, and it’s likely that profits are being taken into account above… well, everything else.
Only time will tell what the fate of Mass Effect 5 will truly be, but I’ll be keeping my own fingers crossed that the new RPG from BioWare ends up coming to fruition someday – with a teaser (anything at all, please) sometime soon, to boot.
EA devs feel “the threat of layoffs at all times,” especially after Saudi Arabia acquisition: “It’s hard to see how teams or games that underperform wouldn’t be dissolved”
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