Mass Effect May Be on Hiatus but “No Reason Why” It Won’t Be Back
It’s been a year of highs and lows (but mostly lows) for BioWare’s Mass Effect Andromeda. The consensus is that Andromeda disappointed its fan base (see our 10 Most Disappointing Games of 2017 So Far…) when compared to the high standard of the original trilogy. When it was released in March, it was torn apart for the facial animation of its characters and NPC’s, and its story lacked the oomph and gravitas of previous games. BioWare has issued numerous patches since then and even recently ceased support of Andromeda, choosing to put their resources understandably into their next big IP, Anthem.
While the future of Mass Effect appears to be uncertain following the reception of Andromeda, EA executive vice president Patrick Söderlund doesn’t seem too worried.
“I see no reason why we shouldn’t come back to Mass Effect,” said Söderlund in a Gamescom interview with Gamereactor. “Why not? It’s a spectacular universe, it’s a loved [series], it has a big fanbase, and it’s a game that has done a lot for EA and for BioWare.”
“What we need to be careful though of is, whenever we bring Mass Effect back again, we have to make sure that we bring it back in a really [relevant] way, and in a fresh, exciting place. That’ my job, and that’s Casey’s [Hudson] job, and BioWare and the Mass Effect team’s job, to figure out what that looks like, and that we don’t know yet, but we will.”
Söderlund also gave his thoughts on Mass Effect Andromeda by saying that “the game got criticized a little bit more than it deserved.” He also believes that anyone picking it up today is getting a ton of value for their buck. Andromeda’s price has been reduced, cut, and slashed quite heavily since release and we’re tending to agree with Mr. Söderlund here.
So there it is: Mass Effect is on hiatus, but it will be back in the future when the time is right.
Tell us what you think about Patrick Söderlund’s comments in our very own comment section below.