BioWare has been shut down and development on the next Mass Effect game cancelled, only days after EA's acquisition by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity. An internal trailer for the cancelled project has leaked, reportedly verified as authentic by IGN.
The trailer shows in-engine footage labeled as pre-production assets from a small team. It depicts a former military character who has left war behind for what appears to be a spy-thriller lifestyle across planets. The footage includes gunplay and telekinetic abilities. The game carried a working title of Mass Effect Universe.
The trailer's most notable detail is the appearance of an older Liara T'Soni helping the protagonist in a bar fight, raising questions about when the game would have been set in the Mass Effect timeline.
The cancellation was part of broader cost-cutting at EA. Development teams on The Sims, Skate, and Battlefield also saw layoffs as part of 400 total staff reductions across the company.