Clair Obscur is a “good example” of why Mass Effect 5 doesn’t have to cost $200 million, former BioWare lead says

Former BioWare designer Christina Norman says Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 shows a new Mass Effect could be made for far less than $200 million. Her comments challenge the idea that Mass Effect 5 would need a huge budget to meet fans’ expectations, amid uncertainty about the franchise’s future after EA closed BioWare.

Norman pointed to reports that Clair Obscur cost less than $10 million to make, and argued that five times its budget should be enough for another Mass Effect. BioWare co-founder Trent Oster had estimated that reviving the project would cost more than $200 million, partly because of expectations for a premium AAA game. The article notes that EA retains control of Mass Effect, making an independently developed sequel seem unlikely.