Big things are on the way for EA and Bioware’s popular space RPG franchiseMass Effect. Last December, the franchise released an officialteaser trailer for the nextMass Effecttitleduring the 2020 Game Awards and fans have eagerly been awaiting news about the fan-favorite series. Now, a recent job listing from EA suggests that a major change may be coming to the next entry to the franchise with the new game’s graphics engine transitioning into familiar territory.
Mass Effectfans have been eagerly anticipating the franchise’s next adventure sinceMass Effect: Andromedawas released in 2017.Andromedareceived a mixed reception from long-time fans of the franchise, praising the title’s improved gameplay while suffering from weaker writing and significant technical difficulties on release. With a newMass Effectgame on the horizon, EA seems to be shifting one area of the newest title in a direction the franchise is familiar with.
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A recent job listing from EA suggests that the nextMass Effecttitle may be shiftingaway from the Frostbite engineused in many of EA’s titles. The listing through EA’s recruitment platform is searching for a Franchise Technical Director for theMass Effectfranchise. Within the listing, “experience with UnrealEngine4+” is specifically mentioned within the Requirements section for the job suggesting that the space shooter may be looking at switching back to the Unreal Engine.
The previous title,Mass Effect: Andromeda,was built using EA’s Frostbite engine, but the transition to the Unreal Engine for the upcoming title is nothing new for theMass Effectfranchise. The first three games in theMass Effectseries were all built using the engine developed by Epic Games. Unreal Engine has become one of the most well-known game engines in the industry with major franchises likeBioshockandDragon Questusing Unreal Engine.
The massively popular series of space RPGs hit a lull for in the years following the lukewarm reception by fans toMass Effect: Andromeda. However, the series got a shot in the arm with the success ofMass Effect: Legendary Editionearlier this year. Theremaster of the originalMass Effecttrilogytopped Steam sales charts following its release and revived interest in the franchise for many fans to return to the worlds ofMass Effect.
While the next adventure in theMass Effectfranchise looks like it is still several years away, the success of the remaster should inspire hope for the galaxy-trotting franchise’s most passionate fans.
A newMass Effecttitle is currently in development with no announced release date.
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