ME3 "a beginning and a conclusion"

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 17 June, 2011

"We have more things planned."

Mass Effect 3 is the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy, but it does not mark the end of the Mass Effect franchise.

Maker BioWare told Eurogamer there's more Mass Effect in the works.

"This is not the end of the Mass Effect franchise by any means," BioWare boss Ray Muzyka said.

"We have more things planned. We're laser-focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is awesome and epic and intense on a galactic scale, and we want to provide a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy."

In Mass Effect 3, Commander Shepard faces off against giant alien race the Reapers, who have invaded the earth.

It marks the culmination of a story arc that began in 2007 with Mass Effect.

"But also it's a beginning on a brand new adventure," Muzyka continued. "The galaxy is at war. It's a beginning as well as a conclusion."

BioWare and publisher EA are keen to expand the Mass Effect audience with the third game.

Voice recognition has been implemented to support motion-sensing add-on Kinect, while the scope has been expanded and combat improved.

"Mass Effect has a fairly complicated combat system," EA Games label boss Frank Gibeau told Eurogamer last week. "You've got story and choice. For some fans that don't buy 12 games a year and maybe buy two or three, some of those things can be intimidating. We wanted to open up the accessibility without hurting the depth or the quality. Kinect is a fantastic technology that allows us to do that."

We've heard that Mass Effect 3 also has four-player co-op.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 11 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • SClaw #1 11 months ago

    "But also it's a beginning on a brand new adventure," Muzyka continued. "The galaxy is at war. It's a beginning as well as a conclusion."

    Eh... did that fuckwit just give away the ending? If he's implying the war is still going on for the franchise, then obviously it doesn't conclude at the end of ME3 somehow.

  • Golgo #2 11 months ago

    "Laser-focused". That's more than just focused. That's like really really REALLY focused. Ninja-Manager focused, that is.

  • Lexx87 #3 11 months ago

    I just hope it hasn't had the Dragon Age 2 treatment (as in made a bit poo).

  • andywilkie35 #4 11 months ago

    "We have more things planned"

    If it's anything to do with waggle, you can jogon.com

  • anomagnus #5 11 months ago

    I think SCLaw, hes just saying theres room for the franchise to go elsewhere after the game ends.

    Not sure why the need to call the guy a fuckwit is there

  • Hindle #6 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 23:04:43 04-04-2012

  • Shinetop #7 11 months ago

    How is "the galaxy is at war" giving away the ending? There's a Reaper invasion, but that doesn't have to be "the war". The Mass Effect universe is filled with factions and races that all coexist semi-peacefully but would be at each other's throats in a second if the situation allowed for it.

    A galaxy trashed by Reapers, regardless of wether Shepard manages to get rid of them in the end, is the perfect breeding ground for any number of groups to seize the opportunity to grab power, sparking war on a galactic scale. Besides, even if the reapers disappear, there's still groups that collaborate with them like Cerberus and the Geth that chose to follow Saren, and they won't all be simply gone when the reapers go.
    Edited by Shinetop at 17/06/11 @ 15:01

  • spekkeh #8 11 months ago

    By all means make more games in the ME universe, but give us a solid closure FFS. If you create one more Shepard game after this I will boycott your games for good.

  • liveinabin #9 11 months ago

    Not the end? It is as far as I'm concerned.

  • stevetuck #10 11 months ago

    "But also it's a beginning on a brand new adventure," Muzyka continued. "The galaxy is at war. It's a beginning as well as a conclusion."

    So im expecting an RTS spinoff, Mass Effect: TWAT, a remaster of the first one with waggle controls and then another 3 after? :D

  • TheHitman #11 11 months ago

    Ah, the Cash Effect.

  • HL706 #12 11 months ago

    Why do I shudder when I hear the word 'franchise' being applied to gaming?

  • Bremenacht #13 11 months ago

    Looks and sounds utterly shit.

  • TopKatt #14 11 months ago

    I've said it before but give me an Elite style game in the ME universe and I'll be a very happy bunny.

  • Nazo #15 11 months ago

    MassEffectVille popping up soon on Facebook soon then?

  • rob_of_the_robots #16 11 months ago

    I suppose you could have different types of games set in the Mass Effect universe. Like maybe a Halo Wars type thing.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #17 11 months ago

    Surprising amount of negativity here considering all the bloke's said is "we're going to make more games in the Mass Effect universe".

    I mean, that could be a squad-based shooter, an RTS, a point & click adventure game, an interactive movie on CD-ROM...

  • hiddenranbir #18 11 months ago

    The galaxy will be at a war. But it will all be static. You can do countless side missions and the 'war' will not be active. No battles will take place, no supply lines cut. The war is a myth.

  • Wizard83 #19 11 months ago

    I actually like the idea of a different story in the same universe, perhaps with a non-human main character to get a different perspective on the galaxy.

    I'm also not impressed with the shift in emphasis we've seen in ME2 & DA2 but i also dont have an Xbox and have never played Gears of War! Maybe thats a good thing...

  • Gunship #20 11 months ago

    These guys just don't not know when to end on a high. They promised it was a trilogy and that was that. Now that they screwed up the Dragon Age "franchise" it seems they need to milk this one a bit more. Which would be no bad thing as the ME universe is utterly fantastic ... if only BioWare was still interested in making RPG-shooter hybrids rather than gradually aiming for pure Halo/Gears of War/Call of Duty clones. Mass Effect 5 will no doubt have fewer lined of dialog than Modern Warfare 2, but, unlike Modern Warfare 2, will most probably have proper sex physixTM.

  • intpleeus #21 11 months ago

    I wish they would end the franchise with Mass Effect 3. Basically, what they're saying is: we'll keep making Mass Effect games until they get shit and nobody buys them. The story will be a convoluted and inconsistent mess which only devoted fans have any grasp of (ala The X-Files), and Bioware's employees will have long since stopped caring. EA will then pass the franchise on to other developers to do a "gritty" reboot. In the meantime, some other less jaded developer will be creating a brand new sci-fi universe for us to explore, with new stories and characters. People will compare it to Mass Effect, but it will be good, like Mass Effect used to be.
    Edited by intpleeus at 17/06/11 @ 16:27

  • Kanjin #22 11 months ago

    I'm sure I remember reading right back when they were discussing ME 1, than these 3 games wouldn't be the only ones.

    I wonder what they're going to do though.... another MMO?

  • edhe #23 11 months ago

    There's an incredible amount of room for fun in the mass effect universe.

    More of the same, obviously. Plenty of squad FPS opportunity. Survival horror. You could even build up a new freelancer-style game with the multiple races learning how to do fighter ships and trying to rebuild the galactic economy. Plenty of scope for ancient artifacts & tech. Could even do an RTS.

  • Cryotek #24 11 months ago

    As much as a Mass Effect universe RTS would be all kinds of awesome - realistically, i am expecting a FPS. :( I hope not though...

  • evarofzentral #25 11 months ago

    Looking forward to ME3, I don't think 3 is another in such a bid universe. There's so many aspects of the Mass Effect world that hasn't been explored yet. Hopeully we'll be able to play as any race maybe a bit like the different backgrounds in Dragon Age Origins.

  • The-Bodybuilder #26 11 months ago

    I normally hate spin off, but those moaning against this haven't thought it through.
    The ME universe is just too big and deep to just be let go. It's a universe akin to star wars or start trek.

  • romelpotter #27 11 months ago

    This has EA written all over it.......To the future! >>>>>>>>

    E3 2025.....

    EA release Tiger Woods 2025..blah blah blah & All New,..."Cash Effect 1700"!

    EA and Biowonga promise there will be huge amounts of DLC and that you'll really, REALLY mi$$ out, if you don't buy such as..

    Exclusive Fish, for Shepard Fish Tank.
    New Theme Tune
    All new Weapons like...Spud Guns!
    Brand NEW Planets...for you to Mine!

    Um..Fuck right Off! Let it end and move on!

    Edit: plus1 for TheHitman for having the same thought process!
    Edited by romelpotter at 17/06/11 @ 18:22

  • StooMonster #28 11 months ago

    Milky milky!

  • Ikaros_O #29 11 months ago

    As long as it's the end of Shepard's story it's all good. After the brilliance of Mass Effect 2 I adore the universe, just make the combat harder for the third though, was a bit weak in the 2nd one.

  • domoslaf #30 11 months ago

    "Voice recognition has been implemented to support motion-sensing" - makes a lot of sense!

  • Grayvern #31 11 months ago

    If the reapers are seen off and a bunch of rogue nanite terraforming clusters move in then im penning a letter to Alistair Reynolds.

    On a serious note though, if Bioware launch into another save the universe trilogy for the next story in the Mass Effect universe then I'm out. A universe whose peoples are constantly in utter and total peril loses believably fast, as the star wars extended universe did.

    That and the other implication is that any story set after mass effect 3 would have to take into account too many variables unless bioware were to ride roughshod over players decisions particularly ones like the council at the end of ME 1 which would affect political landscape massively in a smaller scale story.
    Edited by Grayvern at 17/06/11 @ 22:08

  • Rack #32 11 months ago

    Given the direction BiowEAre are going I don't want anything from them except a conclusion to Mass Effect, if that's not forthcoming I'll just have to make something up myself.

  • nuanimal #33 11 months ago

    Wherever the franchise goes next, good luck. I won't be joining in after ME3. I miss the RPG elements of the original, and although ME2 was good - it left me cold.

    I'm sure Bioware will continue to try to make it more accessible as a point and click shooter, but that's not why I wanted ME for.

  • davisorle #34 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 20:44:35 16-04-2012

  • Inmediasress #35 11 months ago

    Honestly I don't know how they can brign out another successful game after ME3 if they really want a self contained end for ME3 that is.
    I predict a soulless MMO after ME3 but then again I don't know why they are doing SW TOR.
    This could be a simple scenario if they already know that TOR is going to fail after a year.
    Maybe a mass effect MMO with "real innovations" to the genre could garner more attention if not else than there is always the facebook games and iphone apps.

  • menage #36 11 months ago

    I think ME devs need less time doing interviews and more time building the game everybody wants, cause much what they tell me comes out pretty lame in my book.

    I never expected a franchise this popular to end after 3, like Halo or Fable, what sells will get a sequel yet again. But shut up about it before you actually release the game you're working on now. Who cares about knowing this at this point.

    Anybody else think expanding your audience with the third game is stupid as fuck as well. People wouldn't go watch the LOTR ROTK without seeing the first 2, so why would a storygame be any different.
    Edited by menage at 18/06/11 @ 10:39

  • hiddenranbir #37 11 months ago

    As much as a Mass Effect universe RTS would be all kinds of awesome - realistically, i am expecting a FPS. :( I hope not though...


    Oh dude, a RTS would be cool. A TBS strategy game too. And of course, I'd love to have an RPG in the ME universe. I hope it isn't a FPS. How different could be it be to the TPS that we're playing now?

  • trubadman #38 11 months ago

    Just release mass effect 1 on the PS3 before you continue the franchise!

  • 32768Colours #39 11 months ago

    Funny how there's always more story to tell in games that sell a bucket load whilst lesser selling games somehow don't have as much story to tell.

    Also, on the point of expanding the appeal of gaming, if it means dumbing down the experience of gaming, is it not somehow defeating the purpose?

    Hmmm... anyone would think developers and publishers were somehow willing to forgo artistic merit in order to rake in the profit.
    Edited by 32768Colours at 19/06/11 @ 10:40

  • Lunatic4ever #40 11 months ago

    He spoiled the ending ,didnt he?

    What a retard.

    Now its sure that you WON'T end the war no matter what you do during the game
    because on a larger scale the war is going to continue throughout the galaxy?

    Why do I fight then? FWhat a moron!

  • Sodding_Gamer #41 11 months ago

    If they make a space RPG where you get to control the Normandy and say a Quarian fleet, I will be very happy!

    As long as it's good!