Mass Effect 5is in a tricky position. The story of the originalMass Effecttrilogy has concluded, while the new story which began inMass Effect: Andromedawas poorly received, making it somewhat unlikely that BioWare will return to either points in the timeline for the next game.
Mass Effect 5has an immense amount of freedom when it comes to determining the future of the franchise, but that freedom comes with a lot of pressure. After BioWare’s recent disappointments inAndromedaandAnthem, the studio has a lot riding on its fan-favorite sci-fi franchise. The game is also at risk from competition from other sci-fi RPGs and games with RPG elements which are coming out on the next-gen consoles first, but there’s a reason this could actually be good for BioWare and forMass Effect.
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The Competition: Outriders, Starfield, and More
Mass Effect 5faces big competition in the sci-fi RPG market on the next-gen consoles.Outriders, aDestiny-style shooterwith RPG elements is set to land first of all the competition, launching on June 02, 2025. This could give the new IP a good shot at establishing itself as a mainstay on the new consoles, and with lots of hype building around the upcoming title, the game could leave fans feeling like older IPs likeMass Effectare of a different era.
Not only that, but Bethesda, another giant of RPG developers, is embarking on its first new IP in 25 years on the next-gen consoles.Starfieldwill be a space-set sci-fi games, andleakedStarfieldscreenshotshave led some fans to wonder if the game will be a combination ofMass EffectandNo Man’s Sky. Whichever way Bethesda goes, a fresh face in the sci-fi RPG market could be bad news forMass Effect 5, especially from such a big studio and with the franchise’s evident stagnation sinceMass Effect 3’s controversial ending.
While fans knowOutriders’ release date, Bethesda has announced that there will beno news aboutStarfielduntil 2021. However, the studio has also made it clear thatStarfieldwill release beforeThe Elder Scrolls 6, and with BioWare also working onDragon Age 4and theAnthemoverhaul, it is likely that bothOutridersandStarfieldwill be released on the next-gen consoles beforeMass Effect 5.
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BioWare’s Advantage With Mass Effect 5
There is a way BioWare could use this to its advantage if it’s willing to take some big risks. BioWare has an opportunity to look at what is working and what isn’t inOutriders– particularly in its combat – and inStarfield. For example, if next-gen audiences find Bethesda’s open-world storytelling style to be tiresome inStarfield,Mass Effect 5could double down on the drastic ways player choices can affect the plot, or vice versa.
Mass Effect’s well-established IP may have taken some blows over the years, but there are also exciting features the developer can introduce that only work to hype up the game because fans already know abouttheMass Effectuniverse.Mass Effect 5could allow players to choose from alien races during character creation, for example, and unlike any aliens inStarfield,these will already be established species which will draw in players.
Mass Effect 5doesn’t have to emulate either of these upcoming titles, but it can use them to see which way the wind is blowing in the sci-fi RPG market onthe PS5 and Xbox Series Xand to adjust the course ofMass Effect 5in response. The next game in theMass Effectseries has a lot of different paths it can go down, and BioWare should take advantage of its ability to observe and combine it with that flexibility if it wants the game to stick the landing on the new consoles.
