Mass Effect 5 Still In Production After EA Layoffs

Summary

Despite layoffs at EA and BioWare, Mass Effect 5 is still in development, with hints of returning races and potential storyline choices.
EA's recent layoffs resulted in canceled projects and closed studios, but focus remains on major franchises like Iron Man and Star Wars: Jedi.
Fans may have to wait for Mass Effect 5 as BioWare prioritizes Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, but the next installment is still in the works.

The recent layoffs at Electronic Arts may have put the future of some upcoming projects in question, but fans can rest assured that Mass Effect 5 is still being worked on at BioWare. There has been a growing number of layoffs in the gaming industry over the past year or so, with Mass Effect 5 developer BioWare cutting part of the Star Wars: The Old Republic team back in June. This hasn’t slowed down in 2024, with a reported total of over 8,000 job losses in just the past couple of months alone.

Recently, EA was hit with another round of layoffs, this time resulting in nearly 670 people losing their jobs due to cost-cutting measures. This news came just a few days removed from PlayStation laying off about 900 workers, including those at in-house studios like Guerrilla Games, Insomniac, and Naughty Dog. As for EA, its latest staff culling has led to Respawn’s Star Wars FPS being canceled and Battlefield developer Ridgeline Games closing its doors.

Despite these grim developments, many of EA’s planned projects are still being worked on, including Mass Effect 5. According to the same IGN report that revealed the cancelation of Respawn’s FPS Star Wars game, BioWare is still developing the next Mass Effect game, though it is reportedly still in pre-production as of this writing. Additionally, BioWare is focusing its efforts on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf for the time being.

mass-effect-4-trailer-liara — A screenshot of Liara T'Soni in the announcement trailer for Mass Effect 4.

Mass Effect 5 Is Still A Long Way Off

Mass Effect 5 was first announced back in 2020 with a cryptic reveal trailer featuring fan-favorite squadmate Liara T'Soni. In the years to follow, BioWare has been dropping hints about the next Mass Effect game, with recent teasers suggesting that Mass Effect's Geth and Angara races will have a presence and that certain Mass Effect 3 endings could be made official canon after about a decade of fan debate and speculation. There are also rumors that Mass Effect 5 might bring back the classic Paragon/Renegade morality system from the original trilogy after it was eschewed in 2017’s Mass Effect: Andromeda.

While EA’s latest round of layoffs has resulted in anticipated projects being scrapped and studios being shut down, not everything has been lost. Reports indicate that EA is refocusing its efforts toward developing its own major franchises, though the publisher’s planned Iron Man, Black Panther, and third Star Wars: Jedi titles are still in production following the recent shake-up. It appears that Mass Effect 5 is also still in the cards, though fans will probably have to wait until after BioWare is finished with Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to dive back into the massive Mass Effect universe.