Today Yanick Roy, the Studio Director at BioWare Montreal, revealed that a new Mass Effect title is currently in development by the Canadian studio. Yanick didn’t reveal many of the details about the upcoming game, but he did brag about Montreal’s involvement in the previous ME titles—pointing out that his studio built “about half of the cinematics” for ME2.
Obviously, when a new studio takes over a popular franchise, it can put fans on edge. But Roy says that they’re doing everything they can to make sure the transition is going to be a smooth one:
“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.”
However, I’m starting to wonder if it’s possible for any developer to create a Mass Effect title that fans will actually accept. With the outcry that followed ME3’s release, and the resulting missteps from BioWare’s PR department, I wonder if the fans will instinctively be turned off by any future ME titles.
Gamers are a fickle bunch, to be sure, but they can definitely coaxed back into the fold if the game is good enough. However, BioWare Montreal is going to have to pull out all the stops if they want to get the Mass Effect franchise back on its feet.
But, they might be doing just that.
The only real piece of information that Yanick revealed was that the new Mass Effect title would utilize EA’s powerful Frostbite engine. So, at the very least, the game will be pretty.
But pretty graphics aren’t enough to make a game great, and I’m not sure that I’m ready to forgive Mass Effect just yet. Are you?
 | By Josh Engen News Director Date: November 12, 2012 |
*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*