Mass Effect 4 is “in the middle” of development, BioWare has confirmed, and according to reports this week, it might appear at E3 under a different name.
IGN reported that BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy tweeted to a fan of the series: “Too late for one, too early for the other... So I guess we're somewhere in the middle? :-).” He was responding to a question as to if the game was being developed.
The unofficial title for the game is “Mass Effect 4,” and it was reported that BioWare doesn’t want to make a sequel to “Mass Effect 3.”
Ahsan Rasheed, a game industry “insider” who uses the handle Thuway, wrote that “Mass Effect 4” won’t have that name.
He tweeted: “It's not going to be called Mass Effect 4 - its going to be Mass Effect: _ _ _ _ _ _ _” He added, “Mass Effect gonna be shown off at E3 too. Different name.”
Games website Dualshockers thinks that the only thing it could be called is “Mass Effect: Contact,” as the term “Contact” has a special meaning in the franchise.
“Mass Effect 3,” released in 2012, was considered the final game in the trilogy, but it left some fans with a sour taste in their mouth over its controversial ending. But another game–which has been unofficially titled “Mass Effect 4″–will take place the same universe as the other three.
BioWare manager Aaryn Flynn wrote in Febryary about upcoming updates. “We have lots to talk about and show. It will take some time to cover all of it,” he tweeted at the time.
A few months before that. he wrote: “Great time playing the next Mass Effect game in Montreal. Ambitious. Beautiful. Fresh but recognizable. And fun!”