Mass Effect Cancellation Hurts Even More Knowing Austin Wintory Was Pitching the Soundtrack

Image: Push Square

Austin Wintory, the highly acclaimed composer behind game soundtracks including Journey, The Banner Saga, Sword of the Sea, Hades 2 and many others, was set to compose the music for the next Mass Effect title.

Wintory himself confirmed this, releasing a 22-minute conceptual preview on his YouTube channel after the closure of Mass Effect developer BioWare and the project’s subsequent cancellation.

“Working on Mass Effect 5 was my career’s biggest dream project, my white whale,” writes the musician, in what is a devastating statement.

“[Mass Effect] is my favorite franchise of all time, and for the last couple years I’d been in serious conversations with BioWare and EA to jump in.”

He continues: “As part of the ongoing dialogue, I decided last year (2025) to surprise the folks with an elaborate production: nearly 20 minutes of music, fully recorded and produced with synths, vocals and a large orchestra here in LA. I’d not yet learned any narrative details of what they were planning so this was just pure musical exploration.”

Again, the audio that Wintory came up with is now out there for all to hear:

I’ve given it a good listen, and honestly, I think it absolutely nails the classic Mass Effect vibes without merely copying what came before.

It’s got that unmistakable sci-fi twinkle to it, but the orchestral approach gives it a more grandiose sound.

And according to Wintory, this was largely the goal. He explains: “My suggestion was to treat the original game’s masterful Jack Wall / Sam Hulick score as a starting point, and to build on it from there with deeper use of physical, analog synths and a more tightly interwoven use of the orchestra.”

Of course, it’s now desperately unlikely that we’ll ever hear Wintory’s music in a finished Mass Effect title — and that’s a real kicker.

In case you haven’t heard, fans of the franchise have rallied after the unfortunate news, adding hundreds of thousands of signatures to an online petition to save Mass Effect. But I’d be very surprised if EA’s new owners care enough to take notice.

How does an Austin Wintory-scored Mass Effect game sound to you? Dream of what could have been in the comments section below.