BioWare teases the next Mass Effect with character design reveal on N7 Day alongside possible game title
We’ve got a new character and a hidden message.
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What you need to know
Role-playing development studio BioWare had a few interesting teasers for this N7 Day.
November 7, also known as N7 Day by theMass Effectplayer community, always brings some new merchandise reveals (there are some fun statues this year) and there’s sometimes even a small teaser for the future of the franchise. This year was no exception, with BioWare revealing a new character for the next Mass Effect game. You can check out the teaser below:
All we see is a quick character design, which BioWare also posted in full detail. The unknown character is likely the main protagonist of the next game, or at least a major supporting character.
That design isn’t all however, as there’s also a hidden message. Buried in-between parts of BioWare’s message are 1s and 0s of Binary code. Put together, it spells out a single word: Epsilon.
Epsilon is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, and the next Mass Effect game will be the fifth mainline entry in the franchise, so the implication here is fairly obvious. While nottechnicallyconfirmed, the next game is almost certainly titled Mass Effect: Epsilon.
N7 day through the years
N7 Day has played an important part for the Mass Effect fanbase, and BioWare smartly used it from time to time to drop reveals big and small. N7 Day 2020 was a particularly memorable event, as BioWarerevealedtheMass Effect: Legendary Editiontrilogy remaster pack andconfirmedthat development was beginning on the next Mass Effect game.
How far off is the next Mass Effect?
Unfortunately for players, the next Mass Effect game is a long ways off. BioWare is primarily focused on deliveringDragon Age: Dreadwolf, sequel to the nine year-old Dragon Age: Inquisition. On top of that, publisher Electronic Arts recentlylaid off around 50 staff from BioWare in a shift to try and make the studio more “agile,“a shift that has caused multiple team members to be pulled off of Mass Effect and help finish the next entry in the Dragon Age franchise.
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Former Dragon Age quality assurance testers who were laid off after unionizing alsochose N7 Day 2023 to picket BioWareand protest the layoffs.
Back in 2020, even before the effects of the pandemic on game development were well-understood, sources told me that the next Mass Effect wouldn’t be here before 2024, and that’s certainly shifted even further now. I wouldn’t expect to see this game before 2026 at the absolute earliest.
Analysis: A fun teaser for something years away
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The Mass Effect games mean a lot to me, so yes, I’m happy to see this teaser. It’s a great character design, and my mind races with possibilities at what’s in store based on what little we’ve seen and the things I’ve heard from sources.
At the same time, this day is bittersweet. It comes months after some of BioWare’s veteran team members were laid off, and this game isn’t even remotely close to being ready. I still hope to see BioWare succeed, and I hope these events serve to help galvanize the gaming industry to unionize, as everyone who works on games deserves the ability to join a union.
In the meantime, if you haven’t played them yet,grab all the Mass Effect games right now at a discounted price on Xbox and Windows PC, where you’ll have fun defending our galaxy and exploring a new one.
Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
