Recent reports suggest that during a presentation to EA management for the now-cancelled Mass Effect title, the BioWare team removed a flag deemed too similar to the Pride flag to avoid potential negative feedback from certain executives. These claims come from several anonymous former BioWare developers who were laid off.
Original report author Sylvain Trinel explained that the team's decision was not intended to hide inclusive content, but rather stemmed from concerns about potential reactions from conservative executives, given EA's current ownership structure. At the time, the BioWare team already felt that Mass Effect was not a priority for EA.
Anonymous sources also stated that Mass Effect is set 600 years in the future, featuring a new protagonist, with Liara T'Soni from the original trilogy playing a significant role. The team has developed numerous story concepts and plans to incorporate player choices from previous entries through narrative design.
The project is still far from completion. Although some milestones were missed during development, sources believe overall progress has been good. The team has switched from the Frostbite engine to Unreal Engine and had planned a release for late 2028.
Reports indicate that after EA was acquired by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake Partners, and Affinity Partners, the team's video pitch to the new management failed to convince executives to continue investing. As this information comes from anonymous individuals, details regarding presentation adjustments, project specifics, and reasons for cancellation remain unconfirmed by EA.