Report: Mass Effect Put on Hiatus, BioWare Montreal Converted to Support Studio
Tepid reception to Mass Effect Andromeda is believed to be the reason for the studio's shift in direction.
According to a report published by Kotaku, BioWare Montreal has been downsized and the Mass Effect property put on hiatus due to tepid reaction to Mass Effect Andromeda.
The four sources who spoke to Kotaku reporters also said that BioWare Montreal will function as a support studio, with staff pitching in on projects in development at other BioWare studios. The transition began in April when several employees were transferred to EA Motive—also based in Montreal—to bolster the team working on Star Wars Battlefront 2.
Meanwhile, Mass Effect as a franchise isn't dead, only on ice. BioWare executives thought it wise to put some distance between potential new entries and Andromeda rather than immediately assign BioWare Montreal's developers to a another Mass Effect title.
The decision seems prudent given that critical and consumer responses to Mass Effect Andromeda were unenthusiastic, to put it lightly. Shacknews editor and Modojo editor-in-chief Brittany Vincent reviewed the game and gave it 6 out of 10, citing—as did most critics—insipid characters, an overwhelming number of glitches and bugs, and a staid narrative.
"Unfortunately, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a frustrating mess of bad design decisions, bugs, glitches, and narrative missteps," she concluded. "It could have been so much more, but it ends up falling flat on its face. While there are things to enjoy about it, they're few and far between -- your time is much better served replaying the original trilogy or exploring the widely available mods out there. You'll end up being much more fulfilled and feeling as though you've used your time in a productive manner."
Kotaku contacted BioWare for a statement and received a response from publisher Electronic Arts. EA attributed the following response to BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy.
Our teams at BioWare and across EA put in tremendous effort bringing Mass Effect Andromeda to players around the world. Even as BioWare continues to focus on the Mass Effect Andromeda community and live service, we are constantly looking at how we’re prepared for the next experiences we will create.
The teams in EA Worldwide Studios are packed with talent, and more than ever, we are driving collaboration between studios on key projects.
With our BioWare and Motive teams sharing studio space in Montreal, we have BioWare team members joining Motive projects that are underway. We’re also ramping up teams on other BioWare projects in development.
There will be much more to come from BioWare in the years ahead.
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replyDavid Craddock posted a new article, Report: Mass Effect Put on Hiatus, BioWare Montreal Converted to Support Studio
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bummer. on one hand it may have been good to do a follow up fixing the things people didn't like but on the other hand maybe it's better to do a full reboot at a later date when people will be craving more mass effect soon.
i wonder what that means for future DLC and support of the game. -
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Big spoilery stuff: When all the people you helped out from the settlements all came together at the end for the final push I wished they'd put that much effort into the rest of the game.
In the future, less side-questy stuff. I had 73 hours into the game when I finished it, and I covered most of the side quest stuff, minus the Tasks. There was more than enough game without padding it out like that with filler.
A well-written and scripted primary campaign alongside the 6 follower missions would've been plenty.-
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I don't think you or anyone else in this thread is in a position to question that.
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And it implies that talented people chose to make a substandard game, which I highly doubt. More likely is it being a time, management, or resource issue. And if we're going to throw around unsubstantiated claims, I'm voting for that the devs at these places are underpaid, over worked, and expected to beg for more. Who'd imagine treating your employees like slaves would have an effect on quality.
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They are part of a big publisher with deadlines. CD Project can develop a game as they like. This has ultimately ruined BioWare as a whole as they are forced to pump out games and DLC on strict deadlines. Bugs and all.
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BioWare executives thought it wise to put some distance between potential new entries and Andromeda rather than immediately assign BioWare Montreal's developers to a another Mass Effect title.
Did anyone think it wise to reassess the execs who are fucking up one of the company's major brands by giving it the wrong resources and direction? -
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How the hell is that game in development for like 4+ years without anyone who knows anything about the Mass Effect series taking a look at it and being like "something's not right here"?
I mean I'm sure that happened multiple times but the project was clearly allowed to continue. Was this thing just a sunk cost at some point? Seems like a terrible idea to still put it out since Mass Effect (was) one of the most universally acclaimed franchises in gaming.
ME:A is definitely one of my biggest gaming disappointments of the last several years. It's way beyond No Man's Sky in terms of let-down, IMO.-
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That is a bit of a overreaction. Mass Effect Andromeda may not have been a perfect game but it was a good game. Most of the problems in this particular game could have been solved in DLC or a sequel.
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the IP carries GOTY expectations, that's their quality bar, not decent/ok
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Yeah, this. Even AAA publishers have little to no margin for error these days. Sad but true.
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It's a shame how badly they botched the Mass Effect franchise by EA/Bioware. The ending of three completely hamstrung it to begin with. Then they followed up with poor quality work.
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I think this is a good outcome for everyone involve.
