Why Has Bioware Been So Sparing With Mass Effect: Andromeda?

Electronic Arts showed almost no Mass Effect Andromeda gameplay during its E3 2016 June briefing. It has also not been shown at Gamescom this week, and so it si natural that some questions have been raised about its absence.

EA Studios boss Patrick Soderlund has said in a new interview that the game remains on schedule for development. The developer has not shown much yet because the timing isn’t right. EA’s current focus is on holiday titles like Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2. 

“You’ll get [your first look at gameplay] in the not too distant future.” Soderlund said when Game Informer asked him about the lack of footage at both E3 and Gamescom.

Soderland says that he understands gamers are hungry for Andromeda footage. EA believes the timing is not yet right to show the game in greater detail.

“I just came back from a short vacation and I played through the first three hours of the game,” he said. “It’s very playable, and there is no alarm about, ‘Why aren’t they showing it?’ It’s strictly that the game will get the right type of exposure at the right time and that we can the right voice for it. Right now we’re focused on our big titles for [October through December], and when that’s done, we’ll shift to Mass Effect. You’ll see a lot more very shortly.”

Soderlund did not get more specific than that as it relates to when the footage may be released. EA and Bioware typically announce some Mass Effect franchise news on November 7th-N7 Day, but nothing has tied an Andromeda announcement to that date.

Andromeda is slated for release between January and March of 2017.