Mass Effect 4: Everything We Know

At The Game Awards 2020, viewers were surprised with an announcement trailer for a brand-new Mass Effect game. Currently unnamed, the new Mass Effect looks like a direct sequel to Mass Effect 3, though if you break down the trailer further, there are hints it could be a follow-up to Mass Effect: Andromeda as well.

Developer BioWare had already confirmed that it was working on a new Mass Effect alongside Dragon Age 4 and Anthem 2.0, but the Game Awards trailer is our first official view of what the game could be about. Admittedly, it's not much--the trailer showcases two galaxies, zooms in on the Milky Way, plays radio transmissions that showcase humanity's evolution when it comes to space travel, and then finally focuses on an icy planet.

On this planet, we see a hooded figure ascend a destroyed Reaper, where they find a piece of N7 armor among the snow and ice. The figure then pulls back their hood to reveal that it's Liara T'Soni, a returning character from the original trilogy, and the camera refocuses to show that she's joined on this expedition by three other figures, though their identities can't be made out. Because Liara is an asari--a race of aliens that appear youthful for centuries and live for close to 1000 years--and she's only 109 in Mass Effect 3, we can't actually use her appearance to estimate how much time has passed. It kind of feels like BioWare specifically chose to feature only her in the new game's first trailer for that very purpose.

For more on other upcoming new games, check out our most anticipated games of 2021.

Release Date

BioWare hasn't announced a release date for this new Mass Effect. Given that Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC in February 2021 and other teams within BioWare are still in the midst of redesigning Anthem and working on Dragon Age 4, we assume this new Mass Effect is still a ways out.

Platforms

The launch platforms for this new Mass Effect haven't been revealed yet, though we're under the assumption that it will release for the current generation of consoles, Xbox Series X|S and PS5, and PC since it appears to still be a few years out. We doubt it will be released for the past generation hardware, but nothing has been officially ruled out.

PC System Specs

Again, this game hasn't been confirmed for any hardware yet, and that includes PC. We don't yet know what this Mass Effect's minimum and recommended PC specs will be, or whether the game will even be released for PC.

Trailers

So far, we have one trailer for the new Mass Effect. It's embedded below.

Multiplayer Details

BioWare has not shared whether the new Mass Effect will have multiplayer. Hopefully, it does, as both Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda featured a very fun horde mode multiplayer that placed emphasis on teamwork and strategy.

DLC/Microtransaction Details

There's no word from BioWare or publisher EA on whether the new Mass Effect will support DLC or microtransactions. Both Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda featured microtransactions in their respective multiplayer, and the original trilogy featured DLC expansions that added additional squadmates, story-driven side quests, and extra weapons and armor. To this day, both Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 have some of the best post-launch DLCs of any RPG in their Lair of the Shadow Broker and Citadel expansions.

Preorder

BioWare's new Mass Effect is not yet available for preorder.