Key facts
- A two-minute trailer for the canceled Mass Effect: Universe game has been leaked.
- The trailer features in-engine footage and narrative elements.
- The game was being developed by a small team at BioWare before the studio's closure.
- Sci-fi authors Catherynne M. Valente and Derek Kunsken were involved in the game's development.
- A streaming series based on the Mass Effect universe is still in development at Prime Video.
A leaked trailer for the canceled Mass Effect: Universe game has surfaced, offering a glimpse into the unreleased title. The trailer, confirmed as authentic by IGN and Bloomberg, showcases in-engine footage and narrative elements developed by a small team at BioWare before the studio's closure.
The roughly two-minute montage describes itself as "in-engine footage from our small team" and features an ex-military officer encountering an Asari at a bar. The dialogue hints at the protagonist's new line of work "stopping [the fires] before they start" and "making the choices no one else is willing to make."
The trailer also includes action-packed scenes of a gunfight in the bar, interspersed with vignettes of the game's universe, such as a hovercraft on an icy planet and a giant alien suspended in a cylinder. Sci-fi authors Catherynne M. Valente and Derek Kunsken, who had been working on the game for years, expressed their disappointment over its cancellation.
EA executives stated that only a small team was working on early development for Mass Effect: Universe, and the decision not to proceed led to the closure of BioWare. Despite the game's cancellation, the Mass Effect universe will be represented in a streaming series still in development at Prime Video. An online petition has been launched urging EA to continue funding the game or license the intellectual property to another studio.