BioWare let us know nice and early that it was working on a new entry in the Mass Effect series, but perhaps it was a bit too early to get us excited for an upcoming video game. Similar to Elder Scrolls 6 and Perfect Dark, it seems like we’ve been waiting on this title for the entire generation. Now that the team has finished Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Mass Effect 5 is next up so there is hope we will see it sooner rather than later. We only have one trailer and some reports to work off of so far, but here is everything we’ve been able to piece together about Mass Effect 5.
If Mass Effect 5 is still too far away for you, check out our list of upcoming PS5 games, upcoming Xbox Series X games, and upcoming Switch games for titles coming a bit sooner.
Release speculation
as the notes have said, we are still in pre production.
— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) February 2, 2025
Even though it was first teased as far back as 2020, Mass Effect 5 is still just in pre-production as of the start of 2025. The bulk of the BioWare team was fully focused on Dragon Age for the last several years, and only now that the game is done can the focus be shifted to Mass Effect 5. However, due to Dragon Age not meeting expectations, BioWare has undergone staff reshuffling within EA as well as many people leaving. Bloomberg reports that the team has fewer than 100 people currently on the team.
Currently, general manager Gary McKay stated that Mass Effect 5 is in such an early stage of development that it doesn’t need the entire studio’s support, hence many of the staff being allocated to different teams at EA. project director Michael Gamble commented on this with a post on X stating that “as the notes have said, we are still in pre production.”
We can only hope that Mass Effect 5 doesn’t have as troubled a development as The Veilguard, but even if everything goes smoothly, we should still expect to wait another 3 or 4 years or so before the game is ready.
Platforms
If the release date is as far off as we suspect, perhaps as much as 3 or 4 years, then it would only make sense for it to be on the current PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles and PC, if not the PS6 and whatever other upcoming consoles might be out at that time.
Trailer
The first look we got of Mass Effect 5 is the less than two-minute teaser trailer from The Game Awards. We are shown the Milky Way galaxy as the camera zooms in and radio transmissions play out. The camera zips past stars, planets, asteroids, and a massive debris field as the transmissions become more panicked and erratic until finally focusing on a ship heading down to a mysterious planet. Here we see our first humanoid figure trudging through the snow and recovering a fragment of the iconic N7 armor.
The mysterious person is then shown to be an Asari, a prominent race from the series, and perhaps even one we already know. Many believe this is Liara, though it is hard to be completely certain, but would be a very interesting way to tie in this new game with the previous series without Commander Shepard. Asari lifespans are upwards of 1,000 years in the Mass Effect universe, so it is more than reasonable for Liara to return, either as a protagonist or companion. The trailer ends with the cryptic message that “Mass Effect Will Continue.”
On N7 day in 2023, BioWare gave us another 30 seconds of prerendered footage to dissect. This teaser presented a character wearing an N7 jacket and black helmet obscuring their face. Their frame appears to be female, though it is hard to tell for sure. They pull out a pistol and exit the metallic hallway onto an unknown planet. Even more so than the first tease, this footage only raises more questions than gives answers.
Gameplay
This is going to be pure speculation since the trailer we have was completely prerendered and nothing regarding gameplay has been shown or talked about yet. However, based on all four of the previous games in the series, we can be fairly confident in assuming Mass Effect 5 will continue to mix RPG elements with third-person, cover-based shooting. The series always has fit that definition but has become more refined and expanded in each game. Mass Effect 2 was the sweet spot for most fans, with tight gunplay but still a good deal of RPG elements to customize the experience with. Based on how BioWare games have progressed up to and beyond Andromeda, we can expect at least the combat to be a highlight, which just leaves how much of an RPG the game will be in question. Romance, relationships, and decision-making systems defined the series, so leaving those out would be a massive mistake.
Preorder
There’s no word on pre-ordering ME5 yet, and we shouldn’t expect one until we at least get a firm release date. That being said, anyone excited about this title should rest easy knowing that there’s little doubt that preorders will be heavily marketed and available, probably with exclusive content or incentives. EA values preorder numbers to a large degree, and there’s hardly any game, AAA or indie, that doesn’t issue pre-orders. The only question is when, not if, they will become available.
