Exciting news for all the fans wanting to see the Mass Effect world again. BioWare co-founder Trent Oster is on the hunt for ways to bring Mass Effect back. Oster is optimistic that a big budget studio can bring that RPG experience to fans once again. This is a clear option for Mass Effect fans after waiting for so long.
Beamdog CEO explores funding options and original team return
Oster (CEO of Beamdog) is looking at this as a business. He thinks that the development cost for a modern AAA Mass Effect game would be over $200 million. Beamdog is a small studio right now focused on porting the classic RPGs. It is simply not possible for Beamdog to have the internal cash to produce such an endeavor.
Oster is looking at other options to secure funding. He mentioned looking into government funding for things like this in Canada (Beamdog and BioWare are both in Canada). He has also started looking at talent acquisition of original team members. He contacted former BioWare design leader James Ohlen to come back and help.
James Ohlen's response to the acquisition offer was quite promising. He mentioned that his dream is to be back working on Dragon Age, but they did talk about bringing back Mass Effect. Oster mentioned that James Ohlen agreed to come back and work on the project. It looks like original creative team is coming back together to make the Mass Effect future.
Oster is in the beginning stages of financial modeling for this. He is in Excel thinking through the game right now. No concrete funding or production schedule is locked down yet. It's all Oster can get enough funding and make sure people are on board.
If you are a BioWare fan, this is a great (but not confirmed) sign. People are on board. Financial model is being developed.
The new Mass Effect game could happen. But it takes a lot of money and a lot of execution. We will hear more when Oster gets his financial models done and gets the money in place.
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