New Details Revealed on Canceled Sci-Fi Sequel Pitched as “John Wick Meets James Bond” in Space

New details continue to surface about Mass Effect: Universe, the fifth mainline Mass Effect game that BioWare had been developing until EA shut the studio down on Wednesday. EA laid off BioWare’s staff and scrapped the project fans had long called Mass Effect 5. The next day, an internal trailer built from pre-production assets leaked online. It gave fans a glimpse of what might have been, including what may have been the series’ first male Quarian squadmate.

On Friday, YouTuber Dantics revealed the feedback he says he gave during the development of Mass Effect: Universe as a member of a “Mass Effect Council.” A Kotaku report later cited an anonymous source who said Dantics’ account is accurate.

Mass Effect 5 Plot and Gameplay Details

Mass Effect: Universe would have unfolded more than 600 years after the original trilogy. That is no coincidence, since it matches the length of the journey from the Milky Way to the Andromeda galaxy in Mass Effect: Andromeda. Earlier N7 Day teasers hinted at a link between the next Mass Effect and Andromeda, and these leaked details reinforce that idea.

Rather than a sweeping war like the one in Mass Effect 3, Mass Effect: Universe would have centered on a “galactic Cold War” among rival factions. Humans, Krogans, and Batarians would have formed one bloc, the Council races another, and the Geth a third power. The Council races are presumably the Turians, Salarians, and Asari. Humanity may have split from the Council at some point, which would be notable given how central earning a Council seat was to the original trilogy.

The protagonist would reportedly have been a customizable N7 agent, described as a “cross between John Wick and James Bond.” Levels would have been “handcrafted” and would have given players “Hitman-style freedom” in how they tackled objectives. Experimental technology would have granted the protagonist hacking abilities similar to those in Cyberpunk 2077, opening up another way to approach each mission.

Below is everything Dantics shared about Mass Effect: Universe, taken from his post on X:

• Set 600+ years after the Reaper War

• You play as a customizable N7 agent

• Instead of being a walking gun rack, you’re a cross between John Wick and James Bond

• Shepard’s legacy preserved, regardless of your ending

• A galaxy divided into three major factions

• Humanity, Krogan, Batarians, and more allied together

• Council races forming their own alliance

• The Geth emerging as a third superpower

• A galactic Cold War instead of another Reaper style invasion with a shadowy adversary

• Geth-built megastructures

• Connections between the Milky Way and Andromeda

• Experimental technology implanted in you as a unique point of difference

• Hacking and manipulating the environment

• See through walls, identify systems, remotely trigger hazards and more

• Handcrafted missions like ME1-3

• But with Hitman-style freedom in how you complete them

• Brutal close-range executions

• Squadmates who can clash with each other

• Romance wasn’t being sanitised

• Liara returns – now an incredibly powerful Asari Matriarch

Much of this sounds believable. It could also have been pieced together by any devoted fan from the series’ lore, years of teasers, and the leaked Mass Effect: Universe trailer. Even so, the game appears as though it would have been a thrilling next chapter for the franchise.

Dantics says he belonged to a community group that fed back to BioWare. We’ll have to wait and see whether other “Mass Effect Council” members come forward to confirm his claims or share new details about Mass Effect: Universe.

Source: Polygon