EA hints at Mass Effect multiplayer

By Robert Purchese Published 1 June, 2010

Job posting reveals series' ambitions.

An EA job advert for a "multiplayer programmer (Mass Effect franchise)" at BioWare Montreal suggests, in big neon lettering, that multiplayer is coming to Mass Effect.

The advert was posted by EA recruiter Jeff Goldstein for a position at BioWare Montreal. It was captured by Cinemablend before it was removed.

"We are working on Mass Effect, one of the industry's most beloved and acclaimed franchises, as we build our way toward becoming a fully self-sufficient BioWare Studio," read the advert.

An overview of the position reveals that Mass Effect's single-player environments would be reworked to make them multiplayer-compatible. "Multiple hardware platforms" are mentioned, as are chat rooms, client-to-server games, player matching and player st

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About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 1 year ago

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  • Paperghost #1 2 years ago

    If they shunt multiplayer into the concluding chapter of a single player trilogy there won't be a jellyfish big or stupid enough that the dev team can hide behind.

  • Melan #2 2 years ago

    use your time on a polished singleplayer game. that is the trademark of the game.

  • Vortex808 #3 2 years ago

    Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Good god, who is buying ME for feckin' muliplayer. FFS EA, just leave it as single player only, it's a flippin' RPG/shooter.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 09:23

  • muscleblade #4 2 years ago

    Oh no. They cant be that stupid can they?

    Multiplayer ruined Bioshock 2 imo.

  • LHH #5 2 years ago

    Maybe a multiplayer MMO or some sort of spin off? Otherwise my thoughts reflect the same as those who posted above me

  • nuanimal #6 2 years ago

    If this is going to be in the form of competitive multiplayer battles then screw it... but if it's co-op with at least some story interaction for the players then very interested...

  • GiarcYekrub #7 2 years ago

    As long as they don't F with the acheivments they can do what they like I won't be using that bit

  • Eraysor #8 2 years ago

    nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    Doing a Bioshock....

  • Whitster #9 2 years ago

    Personally I wouldn't mind seeing some kind of MMO set in the ME universe after ME3. Obviously the problem with this is how much the universe could change depending on your choices in 3 may mean that whatever status quo they choose may not make sense to all players.

  • hiddenranbir #10 2 years ago

    Shepard clones ftw!

    maybe they'll say "alternate realities of all different optioned Shepard converging to fight Reapers!"

    Of course there are only two sides, blue shepard and red shepard.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 09:54

  • Derblington #11 2 years ago

    Maybe, just maybe, it's not as straight forward as it reads?

  • bad09 #12 2 years ago

    No. Just no.

  • spudsbuckley #13 2 years ago

    Good i hate the casual gamers. It's their fault that every new game has to have tacked on shitty MP now. They can't sit down long enough to play an engaging SP storyline so dev's throw in a retarded 'SHOoTIN MAnZ' MP mode for immediate gratification into every title now which takes away from dev time that could be used on the SP campaign.

  • JDFreeman #14 2 years ago

    My scanners have detected a deposit of cremium in my pants

  • hulahoops #15 2 years ago

    "We fear change."

  • spudsbuckley #16 2 years ago

    We fear change

    Especially when it's pointless and waters down the finished product.

  • Xardan #17 2 years ago

    Bioware pay alot of attention to their gaming community so if we all tell them what we think of this idea its unlikely to happen.

  • anomagnus #18 2 years ago

    For Gods sake people, why the fuss over a multi player? I've played dozens of games that had a multiplayer portion and never even touched the MP portion. Every Halo game, every gears game, GTA4, Bad Company, Split/Second, etc, all games of the top of my head where i either didn’t touch multi player, or just tried it once, said this is balls, and left it.

    @Muscleblade - What ruined Bioshock wasn't a multiplayer option. It just lacked the quality of the first game. It felt cheaper, and less polished, utterly soulless.

    @Spudsbuckley - the dev team are going to have a ton more time on their hands this time. They graphics engine is pretty much sorted, bar a few new tweaks and upgrades. The interface and role development is locked down after ME2. Plot hooks and how to integrate them have been sorted. In short, a lot of lessons from ME1 were carried unto ME2, which means less development time.

    The inclusion of a multi-player aspect is likely to be nothing more than a shooter bit, probably a horde type mode, etc, etc. Multi player has always been a voluntary decision (with the exception of Lost Planet 2). No one can make you play muti player, and the bitching about it reeks of nerd rage of the worst type.

  • VicViper #19 2 years ago

    I would play an MMO style Mass effect game but this would be a seperate game not part of the current trilogy

  • mumblyjoe #20 2 years ago

    Do. Not. Want.

  • Paperghost #21 2 years ago

    "No one can make you play muti player, and the bitching about it reeks of nerd rage of the worst type."

    Except that tons of games that were originally single player now have MP forced into it whether it makes sense or not, increasingly making inroads into what you'd consider the "main" game.

    See: RE 5, Lost Planet 2, the latest splinter cell (where the only thing arguably approaching "old school" splinter cell action is in the co-op mode). Coming soon: Black Ops (four player, which you can guarantee will be the "main" mission), the Tomb Raider DLC game, FEAR 3 which has horrible trainwreck written all over it and a couple of other games I can't remember.

  • davisorle #22 2 years ago

    I can relate and agree with everyone's conserns about ending up into another Bioshock fiasco kind of thing but...
    If they can manage to stick with delivering what's expected from such a developer as Bioware for the finale of Mass Effect ( 3 ) and also add a MP mode, I would hands down throw my hat cause if you think of it, the classes and gameplay of the game is perfect for some hardcore team deathmatch with friends online. Could be awesome IMHO as long as they dont take time away from polishing the Campaign of the game, which I doupt knowing Bioware's amazing % on delivering quality games.

    Feel free to dissagree and think im wrong of course :)

  • Vortex808 #23 2 years ago

    On reflection, co-op squad mission stuff through the story missions might just about be workable- if you can drop in/out of sessions etc. But really with the amount of time trying to do as much of everything that ME single player offers in my case, I can't see me doing too much of that really.

    After seeing Bioshock 2's effort I am not filled with hope though.

  • Monkey_Puncher #24 2 years ago

    If there's one game that I really don't want to see multiplayer in, it's Mass Effect. Co-op could be interesting though!

  • jellyhead #25 2 years ago

    I'm in amongst the crowd who think this is a ... actually i'm totally apathetic to MP, couldn't care less. As long as the SP campaign is good they'll get my money. The MP part can sit on the disk and rot as far as i care. Just don't break the SP game.

    Of course this is all linked into destroying the second-hand market by charging for MP codes so expect more shoddy MP designs gaffa-taped onto SP modes in future unfortunately.

  • kendoji #26 2 years ago

    Maintaining a good single-player campaign is of course paramount, but it's fair to voice concern that development focus and resources may be taken away from that in order to fulfil additional multi-player requirements.

  • hiddenranbir #27 2 years ago

    Not even drop-in will be acceptable. Fable 2 had drop in but obviously you had to play a henchman, you couldn't bring your main char in. Think about it in ME2, you won't be able to bring YOUR Shepard in to help another Shepard.

    Also, the shooting/action aspect of the game isn't exactly spectacular, we already have it's better MP version and that is the crazy Gears of War.

  • Quixz #28 2 years ago

    Co-op yes.. Death match BS NO!

  • anomagnus #29 2 years ago

    There will be no co-op in this, i cant think how that would work, in any way shape or form, so people are just going to have to suck it up and accept that this is likely to be MP deathmatch type games.

    I love Mass Effect 2, in fact, i finished it AGAIN last night with my perfect renegade playthough. I have no doubts that the single player game will not be impacted by a multi player element which i will never play.

    However, it should be interesting to see how all those classes and abilites would work in a multiplayer environment.

    But of course, the internet 'luddite' anti change brigade is out, with their placards, shouting 'down with this sort of thing'

  • Paperghost #30 2 years ago

    "There will be no co-op in this, i cant think how that would work, in any way shape or form, so people are just going to have to suck it up and accept that this is likely to be MP deathmatch type games.

    I love Mass Effect 2, in fact, i finished it AGAIN last night with my perfect renegade playthough. I have no doubts that the single player game will not be impacted by a multi player element which i will never play"

    Never underestimate the silly ideas a game dev (or worse, an exec) might cook up to stick something needlessly into a game. And even if you don't play it, you're still impacted at some level by virtue of the fact it's on the disc hogging space that should have been used to do nothing else but conclude the story.

    If they want to do a standalone thing, or they're talking about some future release once ME3 is done and dusted then great. But imho this needs to keep as far away as possible from the ME3 disc.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 12:20

  • spudsbuckley #31 2 years ago

    But of course, the internet 'luddite' anti change brigade is out, with their placards, shouting 'down with this sort of thing'

    As will you be when ME3 isn't that good.

    But i forgot: change = automatically better.

  • creepylizard #32 2 years ago

    Why not just go the whole hog and make Mass Effect kart?

  • Geordiemp #33 2 years ago

    On my second playthough as Vanguard on insanity, you have the game world slow down when you HEAVY harge and allows an inferno shotty to the head and a couple of melee in slow motion.

    You cant have that AND have other players in the game, how can you slow time for one player only ?

    Unless they gimp the effects and the VAnguard, in which case they better not, I WANT MY SLOW-MOTION SHOTTY FUN !

    I want the SP player of ME 3 to be 2 disks and last the 40 plus hours it did on ME2. If they want a ME3 coop, put it on disk 3, and dont effect the SP campaign at all.....
    Edited by 2 at 01/06/10 @ 12:57

  • Rubarack #34 2 years ago

    I'm hoping, and reasonably confident that this is going to be some kind of co-op side-story entirely separate from Mass Effect 3 and maybe even by a separate team. Death Match just doesn't seem that fitting or likely.

  • spudsbuckley #35 2 years ago

    Deathmatch sells.

  • Farzlepot #36 2 years ago

    Ah, shit.

  • Sunyavadin #37 2 years ago

    I have some optimism.
    The second game moved closer to Gears of War in its implementation of TPS sections.
    Give us a multiplayer mode with that and I'm cool with it. Maybe have modes where one team plays as Batarians or Geth, the other as council races. Or survival modes with hordes of husks.

  • geeza2020 #38 2 years ago

    /cringes at the thought of ME Deathmatch.

  • AphoticCosmos #39 2 years ago

    If it's for ME3, then this can work, indeed I kind of want it to work, but with caveats. As long as it's done as a result of drafting another team in to work on multiplayer, rather than diverting the Edmonton team from focusing on the all-important holy grail of singleplayer, then it could at least be a fun diversion after finishing the storyline. The combat definitely improved with ME2, I think it might be ready for multiplayer by the time that ME3 comes around in 2012.

    However I suspect that it's more likely either co-op Mass Effect 3, or a new standalone game. They did recently say that the franchise was going to be expanded beyond the main trilogy, and I don't think that EA is going to start intervening in internal design decisions at BioWare when they've been pretty hands-off so far, so it's probably not multiplayer deathmatch for ME3 IMHO.

  • afghan_jones #40 2 years ago

    So, a real addition or just and excuse to violently fist consumers in the botty with more EA 10 dorrah tossycock?

  • Derblington #41 2 years ago

    Or, not what you think it is?

    Lots of gun jumping here, wait and see.

  • RedSparrows #42 2 years ago

    If it is a vs. multi, I can't see it taking me away from Gears 3 or Halo Reach. If it's co-op, then 'hmmmmm'.

    All I want is ME3's story.

  • Vin #43 2 years ago

    Gah!

  • ticasse #44 1 year ago

    I think there could be some potentials for a Multiplayer function. I have to agree with you all though, if it's going to affect the Single player side, it might not be worth it.

    I truly think that a Co-op side would be a good addition, either with another story or with the main story (which would be prefered in my opinion). It could be a game looking somewhat like Borderlands for it's Story co-op. And for those who want the Slow-mo thingy, think about Killing Floor. It's a MP FPS and when someone enters slow-mo, everyone does (ok, it might screw the tooltip about the skill but hell, it could work). Or it could use something like F.E.A.R MP (first one). When you entered slow-mo, you were the only one like this, everyone was seeing you running twice if not three times as fast,

    For now, it's only speculations if it's going to be for the main franchiase or for another game ... something like "Mass Effect Online" or "ME MP pack" and I pass on. But yeah, I'm a huge fan of this game and me and some friends would love to see this game have at least a co-op side, maybe not a full Deathmatch mode yet.