Mass Effect 5 Trailer Leaks Online With ‘Mass Effect: Universe’ Title, Reveals Returning Characters and Much Mai mult

A trailer for Mass Effect 5 intended for internal use at BioWare has leaked online, offering a glimpse at what might have been.

The trailer, which IGN has verified as legitimate, was created for internal purposes only and was not meant for the public. It appeared on Reddit just a day after EA’s shock cancelation of the game and its developer, BioWare. It includes the title ‘Mass Effect: Universe.’

The trailer begins with a message: “The following is in-engine footage from our small team. It uses our pre-production assets.”

Mass Effect: Universe Trailer
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The trailer has a number of familiar elements, including weaponry, powers, and alien species we’ve seen in previous Mass Effect games. There’s a glimpse at a sex scene, a Mass Effect relay, space travel, and a nightclub, all Mass Effect staples. There’s even a galaxy map on display inside your ship.

It looks like players would have assumed the role of a former military operative now in a “new line of work.” The job is to stop fires before they start. An older Liara T’Soni appears, helping the player character out in a bar fight.

Earlier today, IGN reported that a Mass Effect 5 trailer was ready to go before EA canceled the game and shut BioWare down. This was first mentioned in a post on the subreddit for Austin, Texas, where BioWare had a studio. An alleged EA worker spoke of “a trailer ready for Mass Effect 5 that I saw a few months ago, so I’m puzzled as to how ‘early’ they were.”

This is in reference to EA’s solitary paragraph on BioWare’s closure and the cancelation of Mass Effect 5 in the memo Cam Weber, president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, president and COO, sent to staff on Wednesday:

“As we focus on these larger opportunities, we’ve had a small team at BioWare working on early-development for Mass Effect. We’ve made the decision not to move forward with this development, which means we’re closing the studio and our Edmonton workspace. BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly.”

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Wesley is IGN’s Managing Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.