In case you missed the tragic news yesterday, EA laid off 400 employees this week, including all of BioWare. The studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and more, has been shut down, and its last remaining project was canceled. The game in question was a fifth entry in the Mass Effect universe, and BioWare shared very little about it – not even an official name. Following the studio’s closure, however, a trailer for the sci-fi sequel started circulating around the internet.
While no official BioWare representatives have confirmed that the footage is real, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier claims that it is. Schreier has a history of credible reporting in the field, and was the first to break the news about the layoffs. IGN has also stated that it confirmed the trailer’s legitimacy.
If you want to see for yourself, you can watch the trailer on Reddit.
“The following is in-engine footage form our small team,” text at the start of the video reads. “It uses our pre-production assets.” The footage shows no gameplay, but includes a good-looking CG cutscene of a new protagonist speaking with an asari woman in a crowded bar. As he tells her about his life, we see glimpses of him as a soldier, then as some kind of spy, traveling to several planets to track down conflicts and “stopping them before they start.” After the asari woman reveals that she’s been “starting the fires” he’s trying to prevent, another woman behind her lowers a hood. This new woman reveals herself as Liara T’Soni, one of Mass Effect’s most iconic characters.
Then, Liara and the protagonist team up to take out the woman at the bar and her henchmen, using guns and telekinetic abilities. The trailer fades to black, then fades back in to reveal the game’s would-be title: Mass Effect Universe. It’s a great-looking trailer – it’s a shame the game will never see the light of day.
If you want to join us in grieving BioWare, we republished an oral history of the studio that was originally written by former editor Matt Bertz in 2016. You can also read our cover stories on BioWare’s most recent releases: Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Anthem, and Mass Effect Andromeda.