Those of you craving a change of pace from the next major installment in the Mass Effect franchise will be pleased to know that when the game does finally roll out, you won't be playing as some re-skinned version of Commander Shepard.
Speaking with VG247, BioWare Montreal producer Fabrice Condominas confirmed that while there is definitely more Mass Effect on the horizon, it won't be more of the same. “There is one thing we are absolutely sure of – there will be no more Shepard, and the trilogy is over,” he explained.
Seeing as how work on Mass Effect 3 wrapped up earlier this year, the team still has yet to iron out the details on where exactly they plan to take the franchise. “This is really our starting point. Now the Mass Effect universe is vast and very, very rich. So at this point in time, we don’t even know what kind of time frame we’re going to be in," Condominas added. "All we’re doing is more gathering ideas from the teams, gathering feedback to see several things.”
The BioWare producer concluded by emphasizing the fact that the next chapter of Mass Effect will be far different than what players are already familiar with. “So first, we don’t want to make ‘Shepard 2′, or Mass Effect 4 with like, ‘oh there’s no more Shepard but you’re a soldier in the universe’. So this will be a very, very different context for sure, and nothing has been decided on the rest.”
Let us know where you'd like to see BioWare take the franchise in the comments below.