Former writers for the now-canceled Mass Effect 5 are speaking out on social media following news that BioWare, a beloved studio with more than 30 years of games under its belt, was shuttered by EA earlier today.
EA announced the news somewhat unceremoniously in a single paragraph tucked within a lengthy open letter on October 21, 2026. “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,” the statement reads.
It’s safe to say that gamers were gutted by this announcement — as were the staff impacted by the closure, as we’ve now seen several writers who worked on Mass Effect 5 begin to discuss the situation online.
11 Mass Effect Characters and Moments the TV Show Needs to Be a Hit
On Twitter/X, New York Times bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente responded to a post wherein a user said, “A game industry that cannot figure out how to make a sequel to the literal best game of all time is a game industry that is fundamentally broken,” speaking on the BioWare closure.
“We did figure it out. We were working on a great game. Just saying,” Valente retorted. In response to a different commenter, she revealed that she hadn’t contributed to Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Mass Effect: Andromeda, or Anthem, clarifying that she is “not, in fact, the personification of BioWare.”
Award-winning science fiction writer Derek Künsken also published a lengthy thread discussing his time working on Mass Effect 5 — a game that, most likely, we’ll never get to see. Künsken said he’d been contributing to the title “on and off” over the last five years, and said he’s only now allowed to speak about it given that the company behind the project is now nonexistent.
“Over the coming weeks, I’ll get more clarity on what I can say about what I did and saw and learned. I hope it’s more than nothing — what we were cooking was really cool,” he said. He went on to reveal that he’d worked with Valente on pitching “story, character, lore, and sci-fi wonder for this next chapter of the Mass Effect world,” calling it “the most energizing, in-the-zone collaboration I’ve ever had.”
For now, fans are left wondering what could have been, while equally hopeful that somehow, some way, EA might sell off BioWare’s IPs to another studio rather than letting them languish. Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah is expressing some caution around this particular idea, though he did theorize that it’s a bit more likely now, given that EA is possibly looking to offset its massive debt incurred by its eye-watering $55 billion acquisition to a private investment group earlier this year.
Oh well; at least we have the Prime Video series to look forward to, which was revealed to still be in active development in an exclusive statement to IGN.
Did you play through the entire Mass Effect Trilogy? If so, which was your favorite?
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s Notizie Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
Have thoughts, questions, or benchmarks on this topic? Join the discussion on our forums.
Join Discussion ➔
13 comments