Development on Mass Effect 4 might not begin until 2023, and EA might be returning to Unreal Engine to build it. A new installment of BioWare’s sprawling sci-fi RPG series was announced during The Game Awards 2020, where Mass Effect 4 teaser hinted at the return of recurring Normandy crew member Liara T'Soni.
Aside from Liara’s apparent involvement, not much is known about the plot or setting of the next Mass Effect, as 2012’s Mass Effect 3 featured a conclusive (and highly controversial) conclusion to the saga of Commander Shepard. Meanwhile, 2017’s Mass Effect: Andromeda shifted the focus to a brand-new protagonist in the titular Andromeda Galaxy. This most recent installment ran into controversy when it first came out due to reports that EA rushed Bioware's development of Mass Effect: Andromeda, and the game shipped with many half-finished features and glitches as a result. Now EA and BioWare seem to be trying to avoid this outcome with with Mass Effect 4, and they might even be returning to the tried-and-true Unreal Engine.
Very recently, EA posted a job listing for a technical director for the next Mass Effect, noting it would prefer candidates with experience developing games in Unreal Engine 4 “or higher.” This suggests that EA and BioWare will be developing the next Mass Effect game using Unreal Engine 5, a surprising shift after Mass Effect: Andromeda shifted to EA’s in-house Frostbite Engine. VentureBeat expanded on this in a report, stating that EA and BioWare want to stay ahead of the technological curve with Mass Effect moving forward. Full-scale development of Mass Effect 4 will reportedly begin by 2023, right after BioWare is finished working on the next Dragon Age game.
The Mass Effect series has jumped back into the spotlight following nearly four years of dormancy thanks to the release of Mass Effect Legendary Edition back in May. This updated collection of the first three Mass Effect games features the full journey of Commander Shepard as they put together a rag-tag team of allies and battle to save the Milky Way Galaxy from the sinister Reapers, including (almost) all of the additional DLC BioWare released during the franchise’s heyday. Mass Effect Legendary Edition also improved some of the more dated aspects of the original Mass Effect games, such as the first entry’s infamously bumpy Mako controls. The effort evidently paid off well, as Mass Effect Legendary Edition sold well above expectations according to the last EA earnings call.
So far, EA has yet to make any official confirmation of Mass Effect 4’s development process or a return to the Unreal Engine, but it seems like BioWare is currently focused on getting the next Dragon Age out before switching gears back to Mass Effect. If the rumors about the new Mass Effect beginning development no sooner than 2023 are true, then there's a long wait for the sci-fi universe's return ahead.
Source: EA (via VentureBeat)
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