Pixels or Death's Mike Potts writes:
I’m glad Shepard is alive, and I’m going to buy the next Mass Effect for the same reason I’m buying Halo 4 (seriously the parallels are eerie) – to continue the story, to continue my relationship with Shepard and crew.
No matter how many times I swear off of EA titles “forever”. Regardless of how many angry rants I record on the 3rd installment’s quality. No matter how far I think Shepard has fallen, I want him back, and even as you sit at your desktops waiting to finish this article and begin the Holy Flame Crusade against the comments section, even as you quote artistic integrity and rail against EA, you all do too.
That is why Shepard is alive.
The latest game in BioWare’s fantasy role-playing series went through ten years of development turmoil
In early November, on the eve of the crucial holiday shopping season, staffers at the video-game studio BioWare were feeling optimistic. After an excruciating development cycle, they had finally released their latest game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the early reception was largely positive. The role-playing game was topping sales charts on Steam, and solid, if not spectacular, reviews were rolling in.
Its easy they called the die hard fans people in their nerd caves who will buy anything and then went woke to reach modern audiences....insulting the nerds in their caves along the way showing utter contempt for their fan base. very hapy it failed and any company who insults their fan base and treat their customers with contempt and insults, in future, i also hope fail.
It’s disappointing but not surprising to see what's happening with Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the broader situation at BioWare. The layoffs are tragic — no one wants to see talented developers lose their jobs. But when studios repeatedly create games that alienate their own fanbase, outcomes like this become unfortunately predictable.
There’s a pattern we’re seeing far too often: beloved franchises are revived, only to be reshaped into something almost unrecognizable. Changes are made that no one asked for, often at the expense of what originally made these games special. Then, when long-time fans express concern or lose interest, they’re told, “This game might not be for you.” But when those same fans heed that advice and don’t buy the game, suddenly they're labeled as toxic, sexist, bigoted, or worse.
Let’s be clear: the overwhelming majority of gamers have no issue with diversity, LGBTQ+ representation, or strong female leads. In fact, some of the most iconic characters in gaming — like Aloy, Ellie, or FemShep — are proof that inclusivity and excellent storytelling can and do go hand in hand. The issue arises when diversity feels performative, forced, or disconnected from the narrative — when characters or themes are inserted not to serve the story, but to satisfy a corporate DEI checklist. Audiences can tell the difference.
When studios chase approval from a vocal minority that often doesn’t even buy games — while simultaneously dismissing loyal fans who actually do — they risk not just the success of individual titles, but the health of their entire studio. Telling your core customers “don’t buy it if you don’t like it” is not a viable business strategy. Because guess what? Many of us won’t. And when the game fails commercially, blaming those very fans for not supporting it is both unfair and self-defeating.
Gamers aren’t asking for less diversity or less progress. We’re asking for better writing, thoughtful character development, and a respect for the franchises we’ve supported for decades. When you give people great games that speak to them — whether they’re old fans or new players — they will show up. But if you keep making games for people who don’t play them, don’t be surprised when those who do stop showing up
I thought the writing and character development were fine. Sometimes things just dont resonate with people.
EA just hosted its quarterly financial conference call, and its executives have been asked to comment about the recent price hikes for games.
Today, Electronic Arts announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2025, alongside the full year.
Split Fiction has sold nearly 4 million copies, and the next battlefield is confirmed for a release by March 2026 with a reveal this Summer.
I object to this article because it briefly bashes The Fast And the Furious.
The fifth one was actually pretty sick.
I have to disagree. BioWare has said, on numerous occasions, that this is the end of Shepard's story. Will there be new ME3 dlc to let you play more as Shepard? Definitively. Will Mass Effect 4 feature Shepard? No. Far as they're concern, Shepard is dead. Yes, he can survive, but only one ending. It's not quite like ME2 where you have to kinda work towards making sure Shepard doesn't survive the ending. In ME3, Shepard is pretty much always dead except in the 'perfect' play through.
To have him be in ME4 would mean that the player had to received that one specific ending in ME3. Again, it isn't like Mass Effect 2 since the "Shepard's dead" ending was actually pretty rare and difficult to achieve.
Mass Effect 4 may reflect some of his decisions, but it's unlikely. It will probably all be events that happened during Mass Effect and Mass Effect 3, not after. There is like a two year gap missing, afterall. They'd have to make basically three different games in one to cater to ME3 endings. One where everyone is part machine with glowing eyes and no longer mortal, one where reapers are allies (in which case, good luck finding an enemy that challenges you) and the other is, well, more 'normal.'
I'll go as far as to say there will not be a Mass Effect 4, ever. There may be Mass Effect: [Insert Second Title]. The definite Mass Effect titles were Shepard's story. His story is over. There will not be sequels but there will be more Mass Effect in general. All of which most likely not going to be set after the events of ME3.
Mass Effect Galaxy and Mass Effect Infiltrator come to mind. Hell, James Vega might get his own little game to tell the events of what happened between him and the Collectors. He is getting his own anime movie afterall.
At most, there will be rescue DLC... and that's a long shot.
There will def be me4 too bad it will never be as good as me1
If Shepard is alive, and there will be another game featuring him (after the events of ME3), then that either means they'll bring him back from the dead again (which will be a pretty lame route to take since that surely means Shepard can just always say from now oh "Oh there's a high risk of death in this mission? Who cares they'll just revive me again so I don't even need to try and stay alive HURR"), or it would mean that they will make the Destroy ending the canon ending, which would take away the whole "make your own choices / have your own endings" thing. (Or they will even make the refusal ending the canon ending and the game will be in the same sort of time and maybe Shepard will have a chance to beat the Reapers a different way, etc.)
I don't see a direct sequel at all and never did, but ME4? Of course, Bioware and EA won't let such a successful franchise die after 3 games, they can go anywhere with it too. Into the far future, into the past, spin-offs with characters we already know, MMO, the possibilities are endless for them.