The next Mass Effect is titled Mass Effect: Andromeda, and BioWare will deliver it in the holiday 2016 quarter, Electronic Arts announced at its E3 news conference today.
BioWare's showed the above introduction video, set to Johnny Cash's "Ghost Riders in the Sky."
"While we aren't ready to go into too many details just yet, as you saw in the trailer and can tell by the name, this game is very much a new adventure, taking place far away from and long after the events of the original trilogy," BioWare said on its blog. "You will play a human, male or female, though that's actually not the character you saw in the trailer (more on that later). You'll be exploring an all-new galaxy, Andromeda, and piloting the new and improved Mako you saw. And through it all, you will have a new team of adventurers to work with, learn from, fight alongside of, and fall in love with."
BioWare said planning and design on Mass Effect: Andromeda was already underway when Mass Effect 3: Citadel was finished in 2013. "We knew we wanted to start with a foundation composed of the best parts of any Mass Effect game: exciting new worlds to discover, great characters, and intense action," BioWare wrote. "At the same time, we clearly wanted to expand the definition of what you should expect from a Mass Effect game."
BioWare previously revealed that the next Mass Effect would introduce new species and alien races, an online component and feature the return of all-terrain vehicle the Mako. The developer has been adamant about the new title not being called Mass Effect 4, as it will not continue the story of story of the original trilogy's Commander Shepard.
Earlier this year, BioWare offered a behind-the-scenes look at the game, which is being written by the lead writer of Halo 4.
