We are all aware of the most intriguing component of the Mass Effect series, the element of choice. Bioware revolutionized the game industry, not only by allowing multiple choices for each situation, but by allowing these choices to vastly influence the rest of the franchise. These are the biggest decisions in the series that may affect how well Shepard and his/her crew are able to take on the Collectors.
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 Changes are made that no one asked for, often at the expense of what originally made these games special.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 think the author of the site means "How Your Choices May Affect The Fight Against the Reapers"
There's like zero choice in ME at all. I love the series , but there's a handful of meaningful decisions that you *MUST* make in the series so far.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Wrex on Virmire
Who to save on Virmire
To save or destroy the Reaper technology
Choosing to do the loyalty missions/upgrades.
Most the other stuff is shallow and doesn't actually change for the most part. Fallout: New Vegas did *choice* much better.
"Bioware revolutionized the game industry, not only by allowing multiple choices for each situation, but by allowing these choices to vastly influence the rest of the franchise."
Who writes this crud, honestly? I really hope Bioware are ashamed when they see video game journalists write trash like that. It in no way whatsoever actually reflects the reality of choice and effect in the ME series so far.
Choices are shown to impact the universe in two ways so far:
1. News reports or offhand, one sentence comments.
2. Slightly altered versions of the same scenes.
Thats not revolutionary.
Its like calling ME2 an evolution of the RPG genre, when its just moved away from RPG and turned into a generic TPS.
Honestly, I cant respect video game journalists today. They just write absolute nonsense, and go over the top with praise for a game thats most significant move in ME2 is stripping out complexity and embracing mediocrity.
Agree that ME had very few choices and the effect of that afterwards.In this regard New Vegas and Alpha protocol did a better job.But the import of decisions from one game to another is just masterful.The decisions of ME1 may not have made that much change in ME2 but i think ME3 will have severe changes due to decisions of ME1.Bcoz ME2 was just basically the story to build your team.It did little to take the main plot further.