The upcoming third person science fiction role playing game that is being developed by BioWare currently has an unconfirmed release date but according to Franchise Herald, it is expected that the announcement will most likely take place at the 2015 E3 event. According to IGN, lead writer of the upcoming title, Mac Walters, had this to say about Mass Effect 4:
"Well, I can't get into details, but the idea is that we have agreed to tell a story that doesn't relate necessarily to any of the Shepard events at all, whatsoever. That's what we've been deciding for a while. But throughout it all, one of the key things is that it has to be 'Mass Effect.' It can't just feel like a spin-off. It has to feel like a 'Mass Effect' game at its heart, at its core. Just without the Shepard character or the Shepard specific companions."
In other words, players will be immersed into a storyline that will go beyond Commander Shepard's plot, who was supposedly perished in the aftermath of the event that saw the eradication of the Reaper threat in "Mass Effect 3." However, Walters has not confirmed whether or not Commander Shepard will be returning to the series or whether players have to grow accustomed to taking control of a brand new protagonist.
According to Kotaku, Mass Effect fans were highly disappointed by the ending of "Mass Effect 3," and in order to suppress the negativity, Walters states that:
"It's been 18-19 months since it came out and my thoughts on it are that we addressed it the best we could in the Extended Cut. We're obviously not going to be changing anything now. We're only going forward."
According to WCCFtech, "Mass Effect 4" will also be featuring an online gameplay element, but the website reports that Chris Wynn, who is the Senior Development Director for the game, has stated that the aforementioned feature will in no way diminish the single player campaign.
The E3 2015 event is scheduled to kick off on June 16, 2015, and gamers will just have to wait and see if the release date for the game will be unveiled then.
