Key takeaways
- Mass Effect 5 writers Catherynne M. Valente and Derek Künsken report the team was making solid progress on a game bridging Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, contradicting suggestions of a troubled production.
- The game would have featured original trilogy character Liara T'Soni and brought the Angara species together with Milky Way races for the first time in a Shepard-era storyline.
- The creative team of roughly 50 people worked collaboratively for three to five years, with Valente reporting she smiled daily on the project before its cancellation.
As the news of BioWare’s shutdown and Mass Effect 5’s cancellation settles, some of the writers who spent years developing the game are breaking their silence about what was lost. Rather than describing a project in chaos, these creative voices paint a picture of a team energized by their work on what would have been the next chapter in one of gaming’s most beloved franchises.
The Writers Speak Out
Catherynne M. Valente, known to Mass Effect fans for penning Mass Effect: Andromeda Annihilation (which features an audiobook narrated by male Ryder voice actor Tom Taylorson), confirmed on Twitter that she had dedicated three years to writing for Mass Effect 5. Her statement conveyed both pride and devastation. “It was one of the greatest privileges & GLORIOUS challenges of my life,” she wrote. “I smiled every day. I worked HARD for the fans, every day. So when I say I am devastated by the end of #MassEffect I REALLY mean it. I don’t know how to express how gutted I truly am.”
When responding to online commentary suggesting the game industry had failed to deliver a proper sequel to what some consider the best game ever made, Valente offered a different assessment. “We did figure it out. We were working on a great game. Just saying,” she replied, directly contradicting narratives that Mass Effect 5 was in development chaos.
Another writer on the project, Derek Künsken—author of the Quantum Universe novels—revealed he had worked on Mass Effect 5 intermittently over five years. In his own social media statements, he emphasized the quality of the team’s work and offered high praise for his partnership with Valente. He described working with her on character and lore development as “the most energizing, in-the-zone collaboration” he had experienced.
Defending the Team’s Legacy
Both writers acknowledged uncertainty about what they could discuss publicly going forward, with Künsken noting: “I hope to say more in a few weeks. The emotional dust needs to settle.” This careful tone reflects the ongoing logistics of studio closure and legal considerations that shape what industry professionals can disclose.
Valente took particular issue with attempts to conflate her with other BioWare projects, clarifying that she had no involvement in Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem, or Dragon Age: The Veilguard—projects often cited when discussing the studio’s missteps. “I am not, in fact, the personification of BioWare,” she stated, defending the distinction between projects and their respective creative personnel. This point matters because it highlights how industry observers often lump studio output together without accounting for different teams and production circumstances.
The Scope of the Team
Künsken’s emphasis on the team’s quality reinforces the writers’ claims of productive collaboration. His note that “all 50 deserve to be lauded and to land safely in new jobs” acknowledges both the collaborative achievement of the project and the human cost of its cancellation. The specificity of mentioning 50 people involved suggests a substantial creative operation working with clear structure and purpose.
The Game That Nearly Was
Mass Effect 5 had been formally announced in 2020, though public information about it remained sparse throughout development. The trailers and teasers that were released dropped significant hints about the narrative direction.
Bridging Two Galaxies
Original trilogy veteran Liara T’Soni appeared in the first trailer, signaling direct continuity with the Shepard-era story. More importantly, the subsequent promotional materials implied the game would serve as a bridge connecting the Milky Way galaxy with the Andromeda galaxy—a substantial narrative undertaking that would have unified the two major storylines in Mass Effect’s universe.
The Angara, the alien species introduced in Mass Effect: Andromeda, were shown appearing alongside other Milky Way races in teaser content. This visual combination suggested a meeting between inhabitants of the two galaxies, with a Milky Way team responding to a distress signal originating from Andromeda. This practical hook would have drawn characters from both galaxies into shared conflict or cooperation, establishing the foundation for the game’s central conflict.
Narrative Structure and Player Expectations
These narrative foundations suggest the developers had mapped out a cohesive story structure before the project’s cancellation, giving weight to the writers’ claims that meaningful progress had been achieved. The combination of legacy characters from the original trilogy with the expanded universe of Andromeda represented an ambitious consolidation of the franchise’s lore—the kind of undertaking that requires careful planning and sustained creative vision.
The Human Cost of Cancellation
Both Valente and Künsken provided rare glimpses into the emotional reality of sudden project termination for creative professionals. Valente’s statement that she “smiled every day” and “worked HARD for the fans” speaks to the personal investment that goes into narrative development at this scale. Künsken’s characterization of the collaboration as “energizing” and “in-the-zone” suggests a team operating at high creative capacity rather than in distress.
The writers’ willingness to contradict online narratives of failure and dysfunction indicates a defensive stance toward work they considered meaningful. Their emphasis on team quality and achievement stands in contrast to typical corporate messaging that accompanies studio closures, providing insight into what creative professionals understood they were accomplishing in their final years at the studio.
BioWare’s Pattern Under Electronic Arts
BioWare’s closure represents the culmination of years of corporate ownership under Electronic Arts. Since 1987, EA has acquired studios like BioWare with a recognizable pattern: purchase, diminishing autonomy, and eventual shutdown. The studio’s dissolution removes from the industry a creative operation that shaped multiple generations of gaming narrative and character-driven design.
The loss of Mass Effect 5 specifically represents not just an unreleased game but the end of a franchise that had sustained player engagement across three original trilogy entries, one spin-off setting in Andromeda, comics, novels, and a feature film in development. The creative continuity that Valente and Künsken describe suggests the team had positioned itself to honor that legacy while expanding the universe in substantive ways.
Source: Kotaku
Frequently Asked Questions
How long were the writers working on Mass Effect 5 before cancellation?
Catherynne M. Valente spent three years as a writer on the game, while Derek Künsken worked on it intermittently over five years.
What was the plot of the cancelled Mass Effect 5?
The game would have bridged the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, with a Milky Way team responding to a distress signal from Andromeda. Original trilogy character Liara T'Soni appeared in promotional materials, and the Angara species would have met other Milky Way aliens.
Did the writers say Mass Effect 5 was troubled or in disarray?
No. Valente stated directly: "We did figure it out. We were working on a great game." Künsken described his collaboration with Valente as "the most energizing, in-the-zone collaboration" he had experienced, and noted all 50 team members "deserve to be lauded."
