More details from the “Mass Effect” front have emerged. Per reports, Bioware has confirmed that the new Mass Effect game is in development at the company’s studio, and that it runs on DICE’s new Frostbite 2 engine.
That the company has decided to use the Frostbite 2 engine seems like a good decision owing to the fact that almost every EA game nowadays runs on Frostbite 2, and that the previously used Unreal Engine 3 is now outdated.
However, as far as the new “Mass Effect” is concerned, the existence of the game and that it is currently in development is a major news for all the “Mass Effect” fans.
“That evolution now takes its next step, with the news that the next Mass Effect game is already in development, driven by the team here in Montreal. 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.”
Bioware stated this information in the company’s official blog on the topic of how the Edmonton Studio continued its consistent support for the developers in the arrival of all “Mass Effect” games this far.
“First, we deliberately seeded the new studio with many transfers from Edmonton. Second, we chose to grow the team relatively slowly, allowing new people to join the team and integrate into its culture in due time. Even with that approach, though, the Montreal studio has made significant contributions to the Mass Effect franchise. We started by building about half the cinematics for ME2, then most of its N7 missions, and finally we played an important role in the development of much of its post-release content,” the blog stated. “Then on ME3, we took charge of the multiplayer portion as well as making significant contributions to the single-player campaign. Most recently, we built a large piece of DLC that will be released on November 27 and that you know under the name of Omega. With each new portion of work, we took on deeper and broader responsibilities, but we always worked in conjunction with Casey, the Mass Effect leads, and the developers in Edmonton.”
On the development of the new “Mass Effect” title, the company said that 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. 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.”
While this is almost everything that is known about the new game, apart from the fact that it will run on Frostbite 2, the blog couldn’t really shed more light on the game. However, the company has confirmed that it is currently “exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts,” including “diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.”
