Electronic Arts has the last major publisher to embrace the concept of the game remaster. The went so far as to criticize the practice. Lately, however, EA has shown a different stance towards the practice. If so, EA might start off by remastering the Mass Effect trilogy.
Speaking to Game Informer at Gamescom, EA Studios head Patrick Soderling discussed the possibility. Soderling’s response was a softening of their previous stance. “What’s changed is that there is proof in the market that people want it, maybe more than there was when we spoke [in 2015]. There were some that did it before, but I think there is even more clear evidence that this is something that people really want.”
“The honest answer is that we are absolutely actively looking at it. I can’t announce anything today, but you can expect us most likely to follow our fellow partners in Activision and other companies that have done this successfully.”
Activision was another major publisher that initially rejected remastering games. They recently changed their stance and offered remasters of Marvel Alliance and Marvel Alliance 2. Their reception has been frosty, with players complaining about missing DLC and features, as well as poor PC ports.
Soderlund noted the importance of “choosing the right brands for the right reasons at the right time.” He added, “A remaster is something that you can just do or do it really well. I want to make sure that if we were to do it, we would do it really well and that people feel that it’s the same game but it feels so much better in this new shape and form.”
EA is quick to point out that this is not confirmation of any remastering. It is interesting, however, that they have had such a change of mind.
Last year, EA made it clear they weren’t fond of remasters. Soderlund said at the time, “it’s about weighing where we spend our resources. Is it better for them to be working on a completely new IP, which you know BioWare is, or should they be remastering a Mass Effect?”
Mass Effect: Andromeda, the next title in the series, is slated to launch between January and March 2017.
