A sequel would likely mean the team will have to factor in many player decisions throughout the trilogy, while a prequel would only be constrained to already established canon.
The new Mass Effect, which is said to be avoiding a Shephard-like formula, is already on the receiving end of fan feedback as Casey Hudson requested community ideas.
”Parsing through your thoughts on the next #ME game. Would you be more interested in a game that takes place before the trilogy, or after?” tweeted the Mass Effect franchise boss. The new RPG in the sci-fi series is already a radical departure from the trilogy as they adopt DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine to power it, the same as with Dragon Age III’s development. Whilst said to ‘maintain the spirit’ of Mass Effect, BioWare want something fresh.
The next Mass Effect ”will be very respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games, with the original trilogy now concluded and the switch over to a new engine, we are exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts,” said BioWare Montreal’s Yanick Roy in October.
”You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.” It was Mass Effect that introduced the ‘dialogue wheel’ that has made the series so easily recognisable to video gamers.