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
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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
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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!
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The company just put out Veilguard, where you’re missing out on parts of the game if you choose not to play a trans character. Why should we expect the same company to put out something good unless they declare significant company-wide changes?
I absolutely, unironically, in no uncertain terms, believe this rumor to be the truth and an accurate projection of what woke AAA devs will attempt going forward. At this point, it’s not about the BlackRock/Vanguard payoffs anymore, nor is it about the virtue signaling. They’re doing this because they hate us. They HATE us. They hate normal gamers with normal lives and opinions, and this is now all about “owning the chuds” and flexing the power they still somehow believe they have over us and our wallets. Friends of That Park Place, please just stay vigilant. And no matter what, turn all your Automatic Updates off.
I think you hit the nail pretty squarely on the head there, illusionist.
Look, if I have to play nothing but indie games going forward, then that’s what I’ll do. As a community we’re well on our way to maintaining a consistent enough ethic that we’ll avoid not just individual games, but entire companies, if they prove to be untrustworthy. They may see a short-term gain as the casuals get fooled by this new program, but it won’t last. At most, it’ll slow the decline by a year or so.
But we’re not the ADHD basement dwellers they’ve convinced themselves we are (that better describes the woke mob, really). We’re capable of being patient.
Yep, this is important to note – particularly the bit at the end about how they’re hiding the content – screening via the high seas is absolutely essential and watching for patches – if you all ever get burned, NEVER BUY FROM THAT STUDIO AGAIN.
But ultimately doing your homework will help.
Heck, I’m finishing up a playthrough of Jedi Survivor right now that I’m thankful I didn’t purchase – game has plenty of DEI nonsense – interracial relationships, girl-boss Merrin, and despite being ~82% through the main storyline, I have yet to encounter a single feminine woman in the game – literally every woman in the game so far looks, dresses, behaves, and speaks like a man. I’m so thankful I didn’t buy the game and know how to sail a ship.
This article doesn’t ask the real question: will the woke “devs” comply with the order or will they insert every instance of woke ideology and modern politics they can because they truly believe they can ignore their bosses and get away with it?
People need to consider two things.
1- There’s no such thing as hiding your DEI content. Something will always slip up or not even be hid at all because that’s the whole point of the woke ideology: to slap your face over and over with “the message” at each 5 seconds. Will they delete a pride flag from a place? You can bet there’ll be dozen woke references at the same scene. Plus. even if they try the “4D chess” with the gamers, that’ll only make gamers smarter to identify wokeness in games. We only needed to identify Erika Isshi on Yotei in order to see the game would be DEI-filled. It’s not difficult at all.
2- As some already said, people need to effectively burn bridges. Mass Effect 5 is being touted as Bioware’s last chance. But why should we even give them the luxury of a last chance? They hate gamers. They delivered failure after failure. No one should ever buy anything Bioware-related again. Same goes to Ubisoft, CDPR, Naughty Dog, NRS and others. Problem is, some people can’t seem to detach themselves of some franchises, and then things go wrong. There’s no reason whatsoever to ever buy any game from the companies who already stated hating the userbase. Look for new franchises to play, preferably from someone who doesn’t hate you. There are plenty out there.
Couldn’t agree more on boycotting companies like CDPR, Ubisoft, Naughty Dog, etc. So many to include that list, too. Guerrilla, 343, Crystal Dynamix, Square Enix, on and on and on, hah. :D
Your 2nd point sums up where I believe everyone should be. Its sanity is defined by expectations of different results while performing the sam behaviors.
Absolutely nothing has changed at this studio. Why should any sane person expect a different outcome from them.
Seriously? Is this upcoming game going to be a complete 180? Is anything, AT ALL, going to change with the exact same people developing and managing these things?
I’m agreeing with you, just adding my overall befuddlement that every single entertainment endeavor is completely populated by these folk. Nothing is making $ any more. Yet no one is really losing their jobs en masse. Nothing is changing. Nothing.
I haven’t “bought” anything fan related in years. Toys, tickets, trips, streaming, nothin’.
Nah, the wokeness will be in the main game. Look at Dragon Age – these people can’t help themselves.
Like moths drawn to a flame.
Whoever things, that Bioware will ever again create a game without political content is delusional. The Studio is filled with activists. They ran the hiring process and made sure to hire people who think like them. It’s like a cancer. And unless you completely replace all of the activists within the Studio, there’s no cure.
If a Studio goes DEI once, it’s basically dead and all the IPs are lost. Not just Bioware, but all the studios, that went woke recently. If you buy any games from them again you support the very people that bring you games like DA Veilguard.
It’s a dead body riddled with cancer that’s somehow still walking.
Woke or not, it won’t matter. ME5 will be trash just like DA:V. The talent that made the name BioWare are all long gone. Dr. Greg? Gone. Dr. Rey? Gone. James Ohlen at Archetype. Drew Karpyshsyn at Archetype, etc. etc. BioWare is dead. EA just hasn’t figured it out yet.