Mass Effect: Andromeda

Is the Mass Effect Trilogy remaster just around the corner? Well, according to an interview on GamesBeat's Decides podcast, that may be the case.

BioWare has had little to nothing to say about the critical "failure" of Mass Effect Andromeda (though it sits at a respectable 72 rating at Metacritic). However, in a new series of Twitter posts, Anthem & Dragon Age Executive Producer Mark Darrah entertained questions about whether or not Mass Effect Andromeda "got a fair shake".

The next Mass Effect: Andromeda tie-in novel won't arrive until a year after the game's release and subsequent "placing on ice". The book is called "Annihilation" and deals with the events on the Quarian ark, one of four that left the Milky Way heading for a new life in the Andromeda galaxy. However, as we know from the game, the Quarian ark (also carrying Hanar, Drell, Elcor and Batarian pioneers) never makes it the rendezvous.

In a new interview at Waypoint (via Eurogamer), former BioWare developer Manveer Heir spills the beans on EA's direction with regard to triple A single-player games. "[T]he linear single-player triple-A game at EA is dead for the time being" according to Heir and the main culprit for that is the microtransaction system. In fact, Heir said that it was not uncommon to see players spend $15,000 on Mass Effect multiplayer packs that could yield gear and other in-game items.

The BioWare blog has been updated with a brief, but heartbreaking, note to let fans of Mass Effect: Andromeda know that there "are no planned future patches for singl-player or in-game story content". Development will continue on multiplayer missions and in "upcoming comics and novels" that will include the story what happened to the Quarian ark.

Now former Mass Effect Andromeda Lead Designer Ian Frazier has announced via Twitter that he is now working on an unannounced project at EA Motive. You may recall that EA announced the merger of BioWare Montreal, the studio that developed MEA, with EA Motive. With Frazier's announcement that he is "now on an unannounced project", it becomes even less likely that any DLC for Mass Effect: Andromeda will be released. The most recent patch, for example, was multiplayer-specific only.

BioWare Montreal is no more. It has been literally merged with EA Motive with remaining employees being moved to the studio to "help develop a new IP". EA Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said, "We're building out a new studio in Montreal, as we've told everyone. And we've hired over 100 people for that studio that are brand new to EA. This is to build the new IP around Jade Raymond's team that she's been building. We brought our BioWare Montreal team into that same facility."

In today's EA investor's call, CFO Blake Jorgensen mentioned Mass Effect: Andromeda as a driving force in the company's year-on-year growth. EA generated $113M more than the same time period last year. Net sales rose 32% over last year as well.

Aaryn Flynn, current General Manager at BioWare, is leaving the company after "contemplating changes for [his] life". Flynn does not elaborate on future projects if or when he returns to the gaming space, but he thanks the BioWare community for all of the 17 years he was with the company. Over the next two weeks, he'll be working with Casey Hudson, returning to BioWare and the GM position.

BioWare has announced that a new 10-hour free trial of Mass Effect: Andromeda is now available for PC, PlayStation 4 and XBox One. This is the same trial that was made available to Origin Access members prior to the release of MEA. Players can game up to 10-hours in the MEA universe in either single- or multiplayer and all progress will be saved should a full version of the game be purchased.

The v1.09 patch has been released for Mass Effect Andromeda. Among the usual bug fixes, there are a new series of improvements to facial animations as well as stability updates and the addition of Platinum difficulty in multiplayer.

Kotaku is reporting that several sources within BioWare have confirmed that there will be no single-player DLC for Mass Effect: Andromeda. After lukewarm reviews when the game first came out, it appears that much of the staff that had worked on the game has been moved to other studios and projects. This leaves a "skeleton crew" that is working on basic patches and multiplayer DLC with no one left over for any type of single-player content, according to sources.

BioWare has published the patch notes for the next update to Mass Effect Andromeda. Much of what is contained in the update are things directly requested via community feedback. Players can look forward to improved character creation options, the ability for male Ryder to romance Jaal, alterations in the conversation with Hainly Abrams and much more. A long list of bug fixes and other issues have been addressed for multiplayer as well.

Kotaku is reporting that four independent sources within BioWare are reporting that any further development on the Mass Effect series is on an indefinite hiatus, with the team at BioWare: Montreal being turned into a support studio for Project Dylan while other employees have been transferred to EA Motive for Battlefront II support.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is ready to be updated to v1.06 for both single- and multiplayer. The official patch notes for each have been published on the BioWare blog. The single player notes reflect a number of technical fixes including improved performance and stability, improvements to some cinematics, increased autosaves, improved responsiveness with control sticks and much more.