Mass Effect 3

[Dyne]

Whoever it is, they're holding an M-29 Sniper Rifle (from the ME series).

[MechDeus]

Breaking news.

[Dyne]

I POSTED THE PIC AND KNEW THE NAME! NO FUCK YOU!

[Opaque]

1UP thinks it's a CoD style Multiplayer game based in the ME universe:

Yesterday, BioWare revealed a single teaser image for a new game they plan to announce during the Spike TV VGAs next month. And in what will sure come as no surprise to you, it took only 24 hours for an anonymous source to spread a rumored synopsis of what we can expect: a multiplayer-focused Mass Effect spin-off.

As Kotaku reports, a "development source" tells them the game is being made by BioWare Montreal, which contributed to Mass Effect 2 during that game's development. And by "multiplayer-focused," that doesn't mean to expect a massively multiplayer game like Star Wars: The Old Republic; rather, the source says it's more along the lines of the multiplayer offered in the Call of Duty series. Which makes enough sense, since the core action in Mass Effect is essentially an over-the-shoulder shooter.

This source also says the game will have a single-player component, but it'll put players in control of a character other than Commander Shepard. And while obviously none of this is confirmed yet, there is some corroborating evidence: Kotaku points out that BioWare Montreal was specifically looking for multiplayer programmers back in June (via CinemaBlend), and BioWare CEO Greg Zeschuk has also previously stated that they intend to make more games in the Mass Effect universe outside of the main trilogy.

Still, we'll have to wait until the VGAs on December 11 to find out for sure what BioWare has in store for us next.

[Dyne]

Gay.

[Opaque]

If it still controls like ME and is third person I'm ok with it. Especially if they keep it so the warring factions aren't playable on the same team.

Also if you gain new abilities or control through levels.

[Uriel]

Bioware seems to be at the beginning of a rapid downward spiral, doesn't it?

[bVork]

Mass Effect 2's combat was so good that the game still would have been praised if it was just an action game. That said, a lot of the biotic and tech powers would just be obnoxiously frustrating in an MP environment. It'll be interesting to see BioWare branch out again. Their last action game was the very good MDK2.

[Drewbacca]

Bioware seems to be at the beginning of a rapid downward spiral, doesn't it?

They're stacking their lineups in a way that would seem so. But they've yet to deliver anything below an 8.0 so they're keeping up. Even their MMO of Star Wars looks OK (for MMO standard). And I think all MMO's are boring clones. If this IS the big secret I'll be a little bit irked. Mass Effect has never been a "yearly series" as someone above put it. There were 2-3 solid years between Mass Effect 1 and 2 - the game came out when it was ready to (it even missed the holiday rush last year).

New IP or GTFO.

Mass Effect 2's combat was so good that the game still would have been praised if it was just an action game. That said, a lot of the biotic and tech powers would just be obnoxiously frustrating in an MP environment. It'll be interesting to see BioWare branch out again. Their last action game was the very good MDK2.

I personally don't picture how ME would make a good multiplayer game without severe revisions to its gameplay.

[Diff-chan]

Bioware is now on a mission to release major blockbusters (10 million+) so obviously they are changing the way they do things. Mass Effect 2 was if anything a validation of this approach. We'll see what happens with Dragon Age 2 (which in spite of it all I am looking forward to). If The Old Republic bombs, they would be in trouble but the game was a huge risk from day one.