Mass Effect 5 - Everything We Know About BioWare's RPG
23.4k
Aron Garst
2025-12-20
BioWare is currently developing the next major entry in the acclaimed sci-fi series.
It has been more than five years since BioWare announced it was working on the next Mass Effect game. For now, the upcoming sci-fi adventure is being referred to as Mass Effect 5 until its official title is revealed. Few details have emerged since that initial announcement, even after all these years.
Mass Effect 5 is expected to be BioWare’s next release, as the studio’s other major project, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, launched in 2024. However, BioWare has shared little about the next Mass Effect, and there was no announcement at The Game Awards at the end of 2025, despite widespread hopes.
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Now Playing: Mass Effect | N7 Day 2023 Teaser Trailer
It has been eight years since the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda and 13 years since the conclusion of the original Mass Effect trilogy. Many developers who worked on the original games have since left BioWare, meaning the team working on this upcoming game is largely made up of people newer to the franchise. As a result, the game could feel different compared to the previous entries. Below, we’ve compiled everything we know so far.
BioWare has not announced a release date for Mass Effect 5. Mass Effect executive producer Mike Gamble used N7 Day in November 2025 to reaffirm that the development team was still working on the upcoming game, though no further details were disclosed at the time.
"Like you, we’ve heard the rumors lately. You’ve made it clear you care deeply about what’s next," Gamble wrote in a post on the official BioWare site. "So let’s start by setting the record straight: The next Mass Effect game is in development, and EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe."
N7 Day 2024 was even lighter on details, as the team focused on the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. As of 2025, Mass Effect 5 still appears to be in pre-production, likely meaning it is still years away from release.
In February 2022, BioWare GM Gary McKay said Mass Effect 5 is now in the prototyping phase, with developers experimenting with "ideas and experiences" for what the game will be, implying the game is coming but still not close to being finished. This sentiment was echoed in April 2022, with BioWare posting a blog post stating Mass Effect 5 is still in "early" development. In November 2022, for N7 Day, BioWare posted new concept art for Mass Effect 5, as well as a message that the game is still in pre-production and that this stage of development is "proceeding very well."
For N7 day in 2023, BioWare showed a short and cryptic teaser of the next Mass Effect, which leads us to think the game still isn't in a state quite ready to be showcased yet. According to a report by Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb, Mass Effect 5 will have a similar development timeline to Dreadwolf, which would mean we may not get the next Mass Effect until 2028 or 2029.
We know very little about Mass Effect 5--most of our knowledge comes from the game's announcement trailer. The trailer showcases two different galaxies, promoting the theory that Mass Effect 5 may be a sequel to both Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda, telling a story that spans the two separate galaxies.
At the very least, the game looks to be a proper sequel to Mass Effect 3, as you can see dead Reapers and an older Liara T'Soni in the trailer. Liara is 109 in Mass Effect 3 and her species, the asari, can live close to 1000 years, so Mass Effect 5 could take place up to 900 years after the events of the original trilogy.
BioWare producer Brenon Holmes has confirmed that Mass Effect 5 will also utilize Unreal Engine via a job posting, asking for programmers with Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 5 experience to work on the new Mass Effect.
Deus Ex and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy writer Mary DeMarle has joined BioWare as the senior narrative director for Mass Effect 5 as well.
Gamble has released tidbits of information on social media over the last several years. In October 2024, he wrote that "Mass Effect is photorealistic and will be as long as I'm running it," confirming that the game will not feature stylized, Dragon Age-like visuals.
The launch platforms for this new Mass Effect haven't been revealed yet, though we're assuming it will be released for the current generation of consoles, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, as well as PC since it appears to still be a few years out. We doubt it will be released for Switch or Microsoft and Sony's past generation hardware (Xbox One and PS4), but nothing has been officially ruled out.
So far, we have one trailer for the new Mass Effect--its announcement cinematic trailer.
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
BioWare has not shared whether the new Mass Effect will have multiplayer. Hopefully, it does, as Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda featured a very fun online Horde mode multiplayer that emphasized teamwork and strategy.
There's no word from BioWare or publisher EA on whether the new Mass Effect will support DLC or microtransactions. Both Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda featured microtransactions in their respective multiplayer modes, and the original trilogy featured paid DLC expansions that added additional squadmates, story-driven side quests, and extra weapons and armor. To this day, both Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 have some of the best post-launch DLCs of any RPG in their Lair of the Shadow Broker and Citadel expansions, so we wouldn't mind paying for DLC for Mass Effect 5 if BioWare manages to achieve that caliber of storytelling again.
Mass Effect 5 is not yet available for preorder.
Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss.
By signing up, you agree to the our
Terms of Use
and acknowledge the data practices in our
Privacy Policy.
We'll begin emailing you updates about %gameName%.
xX_darkSoul_Xx
Jan 28, 07:31 AM
Tutorials are too short. Solid game. bruh 🐒
eggDealer
Jan 20, 06:41 PM
🐧 Not couple friendly. unlikely *yeah
notsosure
Dec 22, 02:31 PM
Worth buying. first-rate probably not This is intense. yeah
DataBender
Dec 22, 01:21 PM
ayo i made it. 🥲 super good. Toxic community.
Dec 22, 07:21 AM
This is stressful. yo
Recent Articles