During EA’s quarterly financial report earlier this week, CEO Andrew Wilson gave investors and fans alike a sneak peek at the year ahead for the megapublisher, and he even peered out into 2018 for one brief moment.
After discussing Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and Need For Speed 2017, Wilson turned his attention to BioWare and confirmed that the developer’s next project after Mass Effect: Andromeda will be released in Early 2018. But rather than return to Dragon Age or Jade Empire, BioWare will release the first entry in a brand new franchise that’ll feature “new concepts, new game play mechanics, and new stories.” According to Wilson, the title will also include an “exhilarating” multiplayer component:
At the end of the fiscal year, our BioWare studio will be delivering an all new IP. A clean-sheet design with new concepts, new game play mechanics, and new stories, set in a unique new universe. This game has the potential to fundamentally disrupt the way people think about an action title, bringing friends together to play in an exhilarating new way. We’re very excited about the future of this new franchise and its ability to attract a large global audience.
Later, Wilson added that the game will have “greater action and greater adventure” than any of BioWare’s previous games, though it’ll also contain “the great RPG character development and storyline progression” that has become the developer’s trademark:
[BioWare’s next game is] action-adventure, not RPG. So, what we’re starting to see more and more in game genres is kind of genre melding, which is great components of a number of different genres really kind of coming together into single games. And so, when you think about this game, you should be thinking about the great RPG character development and storyline progression that BioWare is known for, but in a world of greater action and greater adventure, which is growing to be one of the larger categories in games. It will be a wholly-owned IP. We’re very excited about it, and we’ll share more in the year to come.
While BioWare’s next project remains unannounced as of today, it’s likely in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Expect to learn more about it during this year’s E3 Expo.
