BioWare has announced that the lead writer of the next Mass Effect game—fingers still crossed for M4ss Effect—is Chris Schlerf, perhaps better known to the gaming world at large as the writer of Halo 4.

Schlerf joined BioWare in November 2013, and managed to keep his work on Mass Effect a secret until today's announcement. "Every day is a revelation and every day I get to play in a new corner of the universe," Schlerf said, reinforcing the idea that Mass Effect 4 will be entirely separate from the original trilogy. "To be able to look three steps ahead to, ‘Where does this take us and how does it add to the way we look at the Mass Effect trilogy?’ You couldn’t ask for a better playground."

"As a writer, I write for characters," he continued. "To me, it’s always about what makes my characters tick and what stories I can tell through those characters that will actually engage people about their own lives. It provides a mirror to that player’s experience [so that they are] not just sitting back in an armchair."

The announcement also revealed a number of other lead developers on the game, including Senior Development Director Chris Wynn, Producer Fabrice Condominas, Lead Designer Ian Frazier, Art Director Joel MacMillan, Creative Director Mac Walters, Producer Mike Gamble, and BioWare Montreal Studio Director Yanick Roy. BioWare's Montreal studio is leading the development of the project.

BioWare will reveal more about the game during a Mass Effect developer roundtable that will be broadcast live on Twitch at 10 am PST/1 pm EST.