Mass Effect 4 – or whatever the next Mass Effect will be called – will star a hero that is not just a re-hash of Commander Shepard, BioWare Montreal has revealed to VG247. Find out the studio’s philosophy to crafting the next star of the franchise below.

Speaking with VG247 at a recent EA showcase, BioWare Montreal producer Fabrice Condominas agreed that the studio has never shied away from the fact that Mass Effect will continue after the current trilogy, but with a new hero.

We asked him what the studio’s approach to whatever comes next in the galaxy-hopping franchise will involve, to which Condominas replied, “There is one thing we are absolutely sure of – there will be no more Shepard, and the trilogy is over.”

“This is really our starting point. Now the Mass Effect universe is vast, and very, very rich. So at this point in time, we don’t even know what kind of time frame we’re going to be in. All we’re doing is more gathering ideas from the teams, gathering feedback to see several things.”

“So first, we don’t want to make ‘Shepard 2’, or Mass Effect 4 with like, ‘oh there’s no more Shepard but you’re a soldier in the universe’. So this will be a very, very different context for sure, and nothing has been decided on the rest.”

Who do you think is big enough to step into Shepard’s space suit? Maybe you’d like a brand new character who hasn’t been seen before? Let us know what you think below.

Meanwhile, BioWare’s next expansion for Mass Effect 3, the Omega expansion, has been priced and dated by the studio. get all the details here: