‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’ Fails To Live Up To Expectations: What’s Next For The Mass Effect Franchise?

The Mass Effect franchise enjoyed early success following the launch of its critically-acclaimed trilogy of games. 10 years later, the once proud franchise is on the verge of being put on hiatus following the disappointing release of its latest title, "Mass Effect: Andromeda".

According to Digital Trends, the fourth installment in the Mass Effect game series, the "Mass Effect: Andromeda", has failed to live up to expectations which prompted its publisher, Electronic Arts (EA), to put the franchise on hold. This is a sad news for the Mass Effect franchise whose debut title was hailed as one of the best third-person shooter games ever to hit the market 10 years ago.

Kotaku first reported the news and revealed that the primary developer of "Mass Effect: Andromeda", BioWare Montreal would be downsized and would be turned into a support studio. However, this same report states that BioWare will unlikely shelve the franchise permanently as it is still one of the more popular sci-fi games around.

BioWare is reportedly not going to devote resources for a sequel to Andromeda right away even if the studio would still continue to provide support for its multiplayer mode. Instead, a number of BioWare Montreal staff would be transferred to other projects such as "Star Wars Battlefront II" and "Dragon Age: Inquisition."

"Mass Effect: Andromeda" was released last March to the mixed reception from both fans and gamers alike. People familiar with the game critiqued its rough animation and unbalanced screenplay. While a number of spin-off series based on the Mass Effect franchise enjoyed relative success, this mixed reception is probably the main reason why the franchise is in danger of being put on hold indefinitely.

According to Forbes, this news would be more devastating to the gamers who are already playing "Mass Effect: Andromeda" as many of its storyline cliffhangers would remain unsolved. Michael Gamble, the producer of Andromeda, revealed that most of its scenes would be answered in future content or games. Now that it is almost a certainty that a sequel to Andromeda wouldn't be coming anytime soon, fans who loved the game would also be left hanging.

So what's next for "Mass Effect: Andromeda?" It is highly unlikely that BioWare Montreal and EA would release a sequel just to put to rest the many questions posed by Andromeda. However, despite the almost certainty of it getting iced, there is always hope that the Mass Effect franchise could be revived.