Internal Mass Effect trailer leaks a day after BioWare's closure

A trailer for the cancelled next Mass Effect game has leaked online, only a day after EA announced it was closing BioWare. The video appears to have been made inside the studio for internal use, and it gives a rough look at a game that will now never be released.

The footage has not been officially confirmed by EA, so it should be treated as a leak.

What the leaked trailer is

According to IGN, the trailer was meant for internal purposes at BioWare and carries the title "Mass Effect: Universe". IGN says it reveals returning characters. Rock Paper Shotgun describes it as a rough idea of what the game would have been like.

Push Square reports that the trailer was made with "pre-production assets" and appeared on Reddit. The outlet says it is hard to corroborate the footage, but that it does not initially look like AI-generated material. Push Square also notes that IGN had reported earlier in the day that a new trailer for the game had been created internally.

Gematsu labels the story a rumor, saying the trailer has "seemingly" leaked.

How it spread

Pure Xbox says the video was tracked back to a "burner account" that shared it when asked to provide one. The outlet expects it to be taken down, but says it has already spotted plenty of reuploads.

PC Gamer reports that the video was posted several hours after a purported EA employee said a trailer for the new game was ready to go. That claim is also unverified.

Why it hit fans hard

The leak landed in the middle of a rough week. Rock Paper Shotgun notes that BioWare's shutdown, announced the day before, came only a couple of months after EA went private following its acquisition by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity. Development on the next Mass Effect project was also ended.

Reaction has been emotional. GameSpot called the leaked trailer "absolutely heartbreaking" in its headline. Polygon wrote that the cancelled game would have paid off a long-standing fan request, and that fans are mourning its death.

What to keep in mind

• The trailer is an internal, pre-production piece, not a finished marketing video.
• Outlets say it appears real, but no one has fully verified its origin.
• Copies may be removed, since the original was shared through an anonymous account.

For players, the clip is a brief look at what BioWare was building before the studio was closed.