Leaked trailer reveals BioWare’s canceled Mass Effect game

Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, after more than three decades. The closure also ends work on the next Mass Effect game, the fifth main entry since 2007, which was first teased in 2020. On Thursday, October 22, a day after the announcement, a trailer for the canceled game leaked online and showed its title, Mass Effect: Universe.space.com+1

Part of wider cuts

EA announced the closure on Wednesday, October 21, as part of a restructuring that cuts about 400 jobs. That is roughly 3% of its workforce, and about 50 of the jobs are at BioWare, according to Bloomberg reporting carried by the Los Angeles Times. EA Chief Operating Officer David Tinson and Chief Studios Officer Cam Weber wrote in a letter to staff that "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".ign.com+1

BioWare said goodbye in a post on X: "Now, after more than three decades of shared adventures, BioWare is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending". The cuts come after a group including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and private equity investors took EA private this year. BioWare had already been heavily downsized after 2024's Dragon Age: The Veilguard fell short of EA's expectations.space.com+1

EA still owns the Mass Effect property. A live-action Mass Effect series at Amazon's Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 4.57% Prime Video is still going ahead, according to Space.com, which cited IGN.space.com

Leaked trailer surfaces

The trailer runs about two minutes and was posted to the Mass Effect subreddit. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier confirmed it was real. "Can confirm that this is a real trailer of the Mass Effect game that BioWare was developing up until its closure yesterday," he wrote on Bluesky. IGN also verified the footage, and Ars Technica reported that it came from someone inside EA.videogameschronicle.com+2

The cinematic follows a new human protagonist, a former soldier, through a tense conversation in a bar with an asari. Original-trilogy companion Liara T'Soni also appears. An opening disclaimer says the footage is in-engine and uses pre-production assets, so it is not gameplay. The trailer ends with a "Coming Soon" card.collider.com

Former developers react

Former writers on the project spoke out on social media after the shutdown, including science fiction author Derek Künsken. Other BioWare veterans have moved to new studios. Archetype plans to release the Mass Effect-inspired RPG Exodus in 2027, and Arcanaut, led by former Mass Effect director Casey Hudson, is working on Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic.nordic.ign.com+1