With today being the final day of 2012, let's take a look at all of the information, news and details that were leaked, discovered and released regarding the upcoming game, "Mass Effect 4."
"Mass Effect 3" debuted this past year and it was greeted with quite a lot of talk and heat for its unsatisfying ending that left a lot of gamers wondering.
This next installment from EA is indeed coming, but the when and on what platforms seem to be up in the air still.
Back in October of this year, BioWare Montreal producer Fabrice Condominas talked about the next installment in the franchise and revealed Captain Shephard will not be embarking on a fourth journey.
"There is one thing we are absolutely sure of – there will be no more Shepard, and the trilogy is over.
"This is really our starting point. Now the Mass Effect universe is vast, and very, very rich. So at this point in time, we don’t even know what kind of time frame we’re going to be in.
"All we’re doing is more gathering ideas from the teams, gathering feedback to see several things.
"So first, we don’t want to make ‘Shepard 2′, or Mass Effect 4 with like, ‘oh there’s no more Shepard but you’re a soldier in the universe’. So this will be a very, very different context for sure, and nothing has been decided on the rest," Condominas said.
During the month of November, Montreal Studio Director Yanick Roy said "Mass Effect 4" is already being developed with next-generation technology.
"The next 'Mass Effect' game is already in development, driven by the team here in Montreal. This is the goal we have been working toward for years now, and every member of our team is proud, excited, and humbled to take on the responsibility for the next game.
"To ensure a proper and effective transition, we’ll continue to be supported by the Edmonton studio through the game’s development, working with and learning from them on some critical initiatives.
"We all care very much about 'Mass Effect' and make our decisions based on what’s best for the game," Roy said.
Roy went on to say the authenticity and deep history of "Mass Effect" will be paid very close attention to in this next installment.
"The other thing I can tell you is that, while it will be very respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games, with the original trilogy now concluded and the switch over to a new engine, we are exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts.
"You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.
"Now that the core of our team is in place, the next step for us is to have the BioWare Montreal studio grow at an accelerated pace over the next year as we build a team large enough to support the production of what we know is going to be an amazing game in the franchise.
"We’re all looking forward to telling you more about this next 'Mass Effect' game, but it’s probably going to be quite a while before you hear from us again. We know you have high expectations for the franchise and we want to make sure whatever we show you lives up to those expectations," Roy said.
Finally, the last major piece of information to surface regarding the game was when BioWare started surveying fans as to whether or not they want the next iteration to be a prequel or not.
BioWare executive producer Casey Hudson tweeted out, "Parsing through your thoughts on the next #ME game. Would you be more interested in a game that takes place before the trilogy, or after?"
"Mass Effect 4" does not have any scheduled release date and the 2014 timeframe that was rumored earlier has been shot down by EA.
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