Next Mass Effect in development

A post on an official BioWare blog has revealed that the next Mass Effect game is in development.

Penned by BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy, the blog post confirmed that his team is creating the next instalment in the critically acclaimed series.

"The next Mass Effect game is already in development, driven by the team here in Montreal," wrote Roy. "This is the goal we have been working toward for years now, and every member of our team is proud, excited, and humbled to take on the responsibility for the next game."

The previous game in the series, Mass Effect 3, was developed by BioWare’s Edmonton outfit, with executive producer Casey Hudson leading the project.

"To ensure a proper and effective transition, we’ll continue to be supported by the Edmonton studio through the game’s development, working with and learning from them on some critical initiatives," Roy confirmed. "On top of that, Casey remains the executive producer, but he will have a project director under him, working in Montreal, leading our development team and making day-to-day decisions for the game. We all care very much about Mass Effect and make our decisions based on what’s best for the game."

Little else has been confirmed about the game, other than that it will be built for the first time with the Frostbite engine, which will be enhanced by many of the systems that the Dragon Age III team have already crafted. Previous Mass Effect games used Unreal Engine 3.

"We are exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts," added Roy. "You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.