# Mass Effect 5 was aiming to offer a “level of autonomy and choice” that could vault it into orbit with Larian and CD Projekt’s top RPGs, former dev says post-cancellation

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mass-effect-5-was-aiming-to-offer-a-level-of-autonomy-and-choice-that-could-vault-it-into-orbit-with-larian-and-cd-projekts-top-rpgs-former-dev-says-post-cancellation/
- Published: 2026-10-22T09:49:44+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-22T10:38:49+00:00
- Original publisher: Rock Paper Shotgun
- Original article: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/mass-effect-5-was-aiming-to-offer-a-level-of-autonomy-and-choice-that-could-vault-it-into-orbit-with-larian-and-cd-projekts-top-rpgs-former-dev-says-post-cancellation
- Topics: Art, Business, Culture

## Key points

- Cancelled Mass Effect 5 aimed for unprecedented player choice.
- BioWare closed, with about 50 remaining staff let go.
- The game was too early in development to know if it could revive the studio.

## Summary

A former BioWare cinematic supervisor says the cancelled Mass Effect 5 was being designed to offer an unprecedented level of player autonomy and choice. The game was intended to build on the original trilogy while matching the ambition of recent role-playing games from Larian and CD Projekt, but it will never reach players after BioWare’s closure.

Tony de Waal said the project was still early in development, and around 50 remaining staff were let go as the studio shut down. Other writers also said they had been excited by the game’s direction. BioWare had struggled to match its earlier success with Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, leaving it unclear whether the new game could have restored its reputation.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.