Now that Bioware has officially announced that Mass Effect 4 is indeed in the works, and development is progressing nicely, it comes off as strange that the Montreal-based studio is so reserved with any sort of information. We keep wondering whether or not Bioware has been taking notes from Bethesda and Fallout 4 as to how to keep a secret well and tease the hell out of the gaming community. But as a matter of fact, the secrecy behind Mass Effect 4 isn’t a matter of trolling and torture. It’s rather a case of not being ready to talk about it, mainly because it’s not in a stage to be talked about yet. Studio Director Yanick Roy has somehow clarified the matter in a short tweet:
I apologize for not having any new info on the next Mass Effect for you. It's because our focus is on doing it right over doing it fast! :-)
— Yanick Roy (@YanickRRoy) March 2, 2014
Well, that’s a good enough excuse for me. I’m honestly hoping that this is the case, and frankly, I’d rather have Mass Effect 4 coming as a polished product later than get a rushed game early on. We all know how EA loves to push developers and rush products onto the market in an un-polished state. It happened with Battlefield 4, it happened with SimCity, and it certainly happened in Bioware’s case too. Dragon Age 2 was a prime example of what can happen to a great franchise if you compromise quality just to keep a rushed deadline. So, if Bioware has enough time to properly develop (and they have proven themselves capable time after time again) Mass Effect 4, without EA breathing down its neck, I have no complaints.
Still, it would be nice to see some sort of visual proof of Mass Effect 4. Hell, even some preliminary artwork would do nicely. Granted, Bioware has a enough on its plate with Dragon Age: Inquisition releasing this year, Mass Effect 4 releasing (probably) late next year, as well as a new and undisclosed IP they are working on. But it really wouldn’t kill them to toss us a bite from time to time. I get the emphasis on quality and the need for time to develop, but the marketing team could keep hype levels up.
What we do know for now is that Shepard won’t be returning in Mass Effect 4, the game will retain its original gameplay elements (meaning it will remain a tactical, 3rd person RPG/shooter), same-sex relationships will be supported still, and the game promises to look amazing, being built on the Frostbite 3 engine, the same engine that fuels the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition. Aaaaand…that’s pretty much it! In any other regard, Bioware’s lips are sealed, tightly I might add. Regardless, they are bound to release some new updates (and possibly a trailer) about Mass Effect 4 at this year’s E3, which will take place in roughly 3 months. We’ll be there, and we’ll make sure to keep you posted about anything Mass Effect 4 related.