An internal trailer for a cancelled Mass Effect game, codenamed Mass Effect Universe, has appeared online. The trailer was reportedly created for internal EA leadership and not intended for public release. Its authenticity has been confirmed by IGN and Jason Schreier, a journalist for Bloomberg, amidst initial speculation that it might be an AI-generated fake.
The trailer begins with a message stating, "The following is in-engine footage from our small team. It uses our pre-production assets." It showcases a new protagonist navigating the galaxy in their own ship with a diverse crew, featuring familiar alien races and engaging in combat with both firearms and biotics. The footage also includes glimpses of a romance scene, a tense standoff, and a creature undergoing research in a laboratory. Notably, Liara, a returning character from the original Mass Effect trilogy, makes an appearance towards the end of the trailer before a bar fight ensues.
According to a former BioWare employee, Mass Effect Universe was envisioned to learn from games like Baldur's Gate 3 and The Witcher, aiming to deliver "a level of autonomy and choice that no other game has," while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original trilogy. This vision, however, will not be realized as the project was cancelled.
The emergence of the trailer coincides with EA's recent layoffs, which resulted in the dismissal of approximately 50 developers who were working on Mass Effect Universe. These layoffs affected around 400 employees across various EA studios, including Respawn, Maxis, Full Circle, and EA Motive. The news of BioWare's closure and the subsequent job cuts have drawn widespread sympathy and criticism from across the video game industry.