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| John McCarroll |
Now the student becomes the master.
11.12.12 - 11:34 AM
BioWare has announced that the newest iteration of the Mass Effect series will be developed not at the flagship BioWare Edmonton studio, but at BioWare Montreal. This isn't a brand new studio, though, as it was founded in 2009 and has contributed to both Mass Effect 2 in the form of cinematics and N7 missions, and Mass Effect 3's multiplayer and upcoming Omega DLC.
In a blog post, BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy said, "With each new portion of work, we took on deeper and broader responsibilities, but we always worked in conjunction with Casey, the Mass Effect leads, and the developers in Edmonton. That evolution now takes its next step, with the news that the next Mass Effect game is already in development, driven by the team here in Montreal. This is the goal we have been working toward for years now, and every member of our team is proud, excited, and humbled to take on the responsibility for the next game."
Casey Hudson remains Executive Producer on the project, though the day-to-day decisions will be made by a Project Director in the Montreal studio. Much like BioWare Edmonton's Dragon Age III: Inquisition, the new Mass Effect game will be running on the Frostbite 2 engine.
With the new engine, don't expect everything to be the same. Roy adds, "The other thing I can tell you is that, while it will be very respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games, with the original trilogy now concluded and the switch over to a new engine, we are exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts. You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling."
There is no release window set for this new project, but keep your eyes on RPGFan for more information as it becomes available.
