Trailer for cancelled Mass Effect sequel leaks online

A trailer for the video game Mass Effect: Universe, developed by the studio BioWare, has been posted on Reddit. It is a new entry in the Mass Effect science-fiction game series. The chance that the game will ever be released has all but vanished, because publisher Electronic Arts (EA) has closed the studio.

The video was uploaded from a burner account, and its poster claims to be an EA employee. Jason Schreier, a journalist at Bloomberg, separately confirmed in a Bluesky post that the footage is authentic.

What the trailer shows

The video opens with text saying it was made from in-game footage using pre-production assets. It then shows a man in an N7 trench coat, presumably the new protagonist, walking into a bar, where a member of the asari species approaches him and starts a conversation.

The character describes his military background and says he has taken up a "new line of work". Footage follows of the fighting, shooting and kissing that fans of the series will recognise. When the asari threatens him, Liara T'Soni, an asari ally of Commander Shepard from the original trilogy, reveals herself, and a brawl breaks out in the bar. The trailer ends on the game's title.

The series in recent years

The last new Mass Effect game BioWare released was Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017, a follow-up to Mass Effect 3. Fans widely panned it, and its development was reportedly troubled.

BioWare first said it was working on more Mass Effect in 2020, while it was still developing its next Dragon Age game. Work continued through 2021, when Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a remastered version of the original trilogy, was released, and through studio layoffs before and after the launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

EA has said it will not continue development following BioWare's closure, so this trailer is likely the only look fans will get at the game.