Regardless of the disappointment caused by its controversial conclusion, many gamers would relish the opportunity to replay a remastered version of the Mass Effect trilogy. However, new comments from EA’s chief competition officer Peter Moore suggest that the publisher isn’t interested in pursuing such a project.
During an appearance on IGN Unfiltered, Moore conceded that EA could “make an easy buck” by remastering the acclaimed trio of RPGs. Despite this, a desire to push forward with brand new content apparently trumps any desire to relive past successes, whether or not a re-release would be financially rewarding.
“We are a company that’s focused on delivering for the future,” said Moore. “We’ve got incredibly talented dev studios around the world who are focused on delivering new IP and new experiences.” He went on to note that EA doesn’t have any teams that are currently without a project in development.
As recently as August, speculation about the possibility of Mass Effect remasters reached fever pitch when EA executive Patrick Soderlund indicated that the company was investigating its options. According to Soderlund, the tendency for EA’s competitors to re-release older games had sparked some internal interest, although he stopped short of officially announcing any firm plans.
However, Moore’s comments confirm that EA is looking to the future rather than the past, particularly when it comes to the Mass Effect franchise. He specifically referenced Andromeda, the follow-up to the original trilogy that’s scheduled to release in March 2017.
Moore said that BioWare is “totally focused” on Andromeda, and predicted that the finished product would be “magnificent.” While the game is set to be a clean break from the characters and plot points of the first three titles in the series, it seems clear that it’s being positioned as a mainline entry rather than a spin-off.