The next chapter in the Mass Effect franchise will not be a prequel, according to industry insider, Shinbo602.
Writing in a post on NeoGAF, the Internet gossiper shared a number of teases on Mass Effect 4, which has already been confirmed to be well in development at BioWare for some time now.
Aside from the fact it won’t be a prequel to Commander Shepard’s exploits, as seen in the original Mass Effect trilogy, the game will supposedly be “epic in scope,” and place a greater emphasis on exploration compared to previous games.
“One of the new game’s core pillars is ‘epic scale’. ME1’s uncharted worlds done right,” teased Shinobi.
Speaking on the worlds that players will get to visit, he added they will feature, “strong exploration, sense of discovery, beautiful unique lands. [And] So many awesome additions to the formula.”
While nothing official has been confirmed at present, Shinobi has a pretty decent track record for this sort of thing. In fact, he’s so confident in his Mass Effect info drop, that he advised a user who questioned his integrity to bookmark the page for when the official info arrives.
It’s also worth pointing out that Shinobi’s claims that the new game will feature greater exploration ties in nicely with BioWare’s confirmation that the Mako will return. The studio also wants your feedback regarding a potential Mass Effect HD Trilogy.
Mass Effect 4 is expected to launch on PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox 360 in 2016.