Original Mass Effect cinematic designer Armando Troisi isn't worried about BioWare developers' ability to handle a sequel as precious as Mass Effect 5. The company's executives, however…
"It's one of those things where, if people get out of the way and let game creators just do their thing, you never know the magic that they can create," Troisi tells FRVR about the next Mass Effect game in a new interview.
"I think, obviously, there's a lot of different things that come to play in making a game of that scale," Troisi continues. "But trust your people and try to change the world with everything that you try to do. And I think that they can do it. I'm rooting for them."
Mass Effect 5 was first announced at the 2020 Game Awards. Despite the years passing slowly with few updates, Troisi remains confident in the project because the original game's devs, such as lead designer Preston Watamaniuk and art director Derek Watts, continue to work at BioWare.
"They're the OGs, you know? I don't think there's anything that I could tell them that they don't know what to do," says Troisi. But while the heart of BioWare is maintained by its accomplished developers, the body of the company has changed over the past 20 years.
Executives overseeing both BioWare itself and owner EA have an increasingly rusty reputation after mangling Dragon Age: The Veilguard's 2025 release, shutting down looter shooter Anthem in 2026 after seven years, and, uh, accepting Saudi Arabia and private equity investor Jared Kushner as their overlords in a new $55 billion buyout. Yeah. On that last note, some EA devs now worry that "projects just won't get signed because they don't align explicitly with what the Saudi government wants or implicitly because [EA will think] 'oh, we're going to try and cater these things [to our owners] because if we pitch something else the government may not like or approve of it.'"
Ex-EA senior manager Emmanuel Rosier shares these concerns, saying in August that BioWare was "struggling as a studio, as a brand have been struggling in recent years, and I don't know if they [EA] will keep funding that one."
Mass Effect 5 is, in theory, in ongoing production and a lucrative opportunity for BioWare, but Rosier says, "I will believe it when I see it, the next Mass Effect game, let's put it that way." Even former BioWare executive Mark Darrah is preparing his doomsday bunker, anticipating a future where, "if [EA's new owners are] coming in, and they're very involved, they're going to do a lot of damage."
So, sure, BioWare developers have no problem making Mass Effect 5. What's truly uncertain is whether or not its executives will let them.
"I think BioWare can do it," Troisi reiterates, "if we just leave them alone to do what they do best."
