'Mass Effect: Universe' looks like it would have focused on a new protagonist and series favorite Liara T'Soni.
A trailer for BioWare's in-development Mass Effect sequel has leaked on Reddit, just as the possibility of it ever being released has all but vanished following EA's closure of the studio. The trailer was posted from a burner account by a user who claims to be an EA employee, and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has separately confirmed the footage is the real deal in a Bluesky post.
After opening with text that notes it's made from in-game footage using pre-production assets, the trailer cuts to a man wearing an N7 trench coat (presumably the new protagonist) entering a bar, where an asari approaches him to strike up a conversation. He recounts his experience in the military before sharing that he's picked up a "new line of work," over footage of the galaxy-saving punching, shooting and kissing that should be familiar to fans of the series. After the asari threatens him, Liara T'Soni — an asari ally of the original trilogy's Commander Shepard — reveals herself and the bar breaks out into a fight. The trailer ends on the game's title: Mass Effect: Universe.
The last new Mass Effect game BioWare released was Mass Effect: Andromeda, a 2017 follow-up to Mass Effect 3 that was widely panned by fans and was reportedly the product of a troubled development process. BioWare first teased it was working on more Mass Effect in 2020, while it was still developing its next Dragon Age title. Development on the game has continued since then, through the 2021 release of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a remastered version of the original trilogy of games, and studio layoffs before and after the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Considering EA said it wouldn't continue development following BioWare's closure, this trailer is likely all we'll get to see of the game.