A supposed insider claiming to be a contractor working on BioWare’s upcoming Mass Effect 5 revealed that EA and BioWare might be shifting strategies in the wake of Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s epic failure.
🧂and all that of course but this would fit very nicely with a few other rumblings i have heard from back channels. Companies want to get rid of the woke but are equally worried the woke will attack them for it and so will try to hit a middle line. pic.twitter.com/ePye1jWx2M
— The ArchCast (@TArchcast) December 15, 2024
However, since this information is unverified, we’re treating it as a rumor for the time being.
A Reddit user on the subreddit KotakuInAction claimed in a post to be a contractor currently hard at work on Mass Effect 5. He went on to say that an “all hands on deck” meeting was recently called.
“Devs were asked to delay features, art, and content that may be deemed ‘woke’ or ‘political,’ and defer them to future patches,” the anonymous user said. “As QAS, we were tasked to report if we audit or detect anything that might resemble them so they can be fixed. The company wants to launch the game as ‘clean’ as possible and introduce ‘woke’ stuff silently through patches. I fear this might be industry-wide. They wouldn’t be issuing this so early otherwise. So tread carefully.”
A screenshot from Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021), BioWare
It’s entirely possible that BioWare and EA are wary of ideological or political content after the horrible failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. A recent report from YouTube creator Smash JT citing sources within BioWare stated that the big budget title has yet to move 1.5 million copies worldwide.
Dragon Age represented a major financial and critical embarrassment for BioWare, and many believe the upcoming Mass Effect 5 could be the studio’s last chance.
A screenshot from Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021), BioWare
However, the current state of BioWare coupled with the recent release of a Mass Effect board game have left many fearing for the future of this signature franchise.
Sources from within the company exposed a culture of toxic positivity where decisions are driven entirely by identity politics. Additionally, the Mass Effect board games confirmed the fears of many with the inclusion of pronouns for iconic characters, including “she/they” listed for longtime squad member Liara T’Soni.
A screenshot of Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz
Liara was always referred to as she/her within the original three Mass Effect games.
Issues surrounding gender were one of the main complaints against Dragon Age, where large sections of the game were dedicated to ideologically-driven conversations. The game also allowed players to select their preferred pronouns and design characters with scars that indicate elective body modification surgery.
A screenshot from Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021), BioWare
The Reddit threat in question was removed, with mods citing “misleading information.” However, the author still managed to respond to several questions beforehand.
In these responses, the supposed insider confirmed that pride flag cosmetic patches were planned with alternative names like “bubblegum patch” for a design featuring blue, pink, and white. Additionally, the leaker noted that pronoun selection was included in the current build.
This rumor is going around that BioWare is asking for woke Content to be paused and delayed, perhaps patched in at a later time.
I can tell you this, when management says “delete this now” they don’t really plan to add it in later. They are saying that to keep their activist… https://t.co/fiCwsVZaVE
— Grummz (@Grummz) December 15, 2024
Former World of Warcraft team lead Mark Kern, AKA Grummz, seemed hopeful at this rumor.
“I can tell you this,” he said, speaking on the rumor that BioWare said political content was being removed for now and added in later. “When management says ‘delete this now’ they don’t really plan to add it in later. They’re saying that to keep their activist employees from rioting.”
However, this would seem to confirm a scoop that YouTube commentator Endymion shared back in September that noted studios were going to start injecting DEI content in secret.
“According to my sources — and this was one of the most damning allegations, so please listen carefully here,” Endymion said, “is that the game industry across plenty of studios will start to market their games as being devoid of identity politics and pandering almost completely. However, the actual content within these games in the future will not be altered or lessened in terms of identity political content despite this tonal change in marketing.”
Essentially, Endymion’s sources believe that the industry is about to start playing “4D chess” with gamers, attempting to trick them into purchasing content that features identity politics.
A screenshot from Mass Effect: Andromeda Deluxe Edition (2017), BioWare
“Simply put, many studios and publishers are still all-in on DEI and wokeness in the future. Like they are not changing that. And they still want you to consume this content whether you want to or not, but they will now sell you the games by marketing them to you to trick you into think that they’re not woke, basically. And then you will buy it and then sometime into these future experiences all the wokeness, I guess, will reveal itself, and then you will be probably too far into these games in order to refund them and then these studios and publishers will make their money.”
Do you believe BioWare is actually removing ideology and political messaging from Mass Effect 5? Or are they trying to trick the gaming industry into believing they’ve changed their ways? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
