Mass Effect 5 release window has fans mourning state of industry

Mass Effect 5 is coming at … some point.

BioWare is in a tough position; Dragon Age: The Veilguard didn’t quite sell in the way that the studio and publisher EA hoped, which means that there’s a lot of pressure riding on Mass Effect 5.

That’s not its official title, of course, with BioWare currently referring to the project simply as the next Mass Effect entry.

It’ll be the fifth instalment in the series, although it’ll sequentially follow Mass Effect 3.

BioWare has dropped some incredibly brief teasers in recent years.

We know that Liara is returning, and that the title features an individual in N7 uniform.

Geth, Salarian, Angaran, Turian, Asari, Krogan, and Hanar individuals have also been spotted in the various teasers, so all of the familiar species should be back.

That’s pretty much the extent of it though.

With Dragon Age: The Veilguard having occupied a ton of BioWare’s focus prior to its launch last year, I’m imagining it’s going to be a while until Mass Effect 5 is ready for a major re-reveal.

It’s with that in mind that it could be five years from launch, if we’re being realistic.

That’s something that brings to light just what a sad state the video games industry is in.

As pointed out by Twitter user JamieMoranUK, the seventh generation of consoles brought us three Mass Effect titles, the original trilogy.

Gen 7 refers to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Yet while that era brought us three Mass Effect entries, the combined eighth and ninth generations couldn’t even bring us one mainline entry, despite that period lasting for a combined 13 years, so far at least.

It’s wild to think that we used to wait two to three years tops for a sequel.

Now, we’re expected to wait for a decade plus in some cases.

Mass Effect 3 landed in 2012 … that’s well over a decade ago - 13 years ago to be exact.

Of course, Mass Effect Andromeda landed in 2017 but that’s a spin-off more so than a mainline entry.

I don’t know about you but when it eventually comes to the 10th generation of consoles, it’s not actually the hardware I’m most interested in.

I just finally want a generation that's filled with a steady stream of games instead of live-service flops, remasters, and cancellations.

Surely, that’s not too much to ask?