"Mass Effect was my ultimate white whale": Journey composer shares 20 minutes of music created during talks to work on BioWare's recently cancelled RPG
The gradual drip of details about and glimpses at what BioWare were looking to cook up with the cancelled Mass Effect 5 continues, this time thanks to a composer who was in talks to come aboard to put together the RPG's soundtrack. Said songsmith, Austin Wintory, has opted to share around 20 minutes of tunes he put together just as an attempt to explore where he might take things if he did end up…
Composer Austin Wintory has released approximately 20 to 22 minutes of music online that he composed during discussions to score the cancelled Mass Effect 5, also known as Mass Effect: Universe. Wintory, known for work on Journey and Stray Gods, described the project as his "white whale" and an "all-time dream project." According to PC Gamer, Wintory had been in serious conversation with BioWare and EA to provide the soundtrack and used the music as an audition or starting point.
He recorded the tracks in Los Angeles using vocals, synths, and a large orchestra, aiming to build upon the original series' score with deeper use of analog synths and a tightly interwoven orchestra.
The release follows EA's announcement on October 21 that it was closing BioWare and ending development on the next Mass Effect project. As reported by GamesIndustry, over 223,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for EA to commit to the continued development of the franchise or license the intellectual property to another studio. While EA confirmed the cancellation of the next Mass Effect game, the company has not commented on the status of other major BioWare franchises.
Brief written by urgent.news from Rock Paper Shotgun, IGN, PC Gamer, GamesIndustry — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Veteran game composer in talks to score Mass Effect 5 shares 20 minutes of music he wrote for the project: 'To even dream in your sandbox was a privilege' pcgamer.com
- What the canceled Mass Effect would have been: a sci-fi spy thriller built around player choice techspot.com
- 220,000-signatory petition to "save Mass Effect" doesn't mention BioWare, suggests giving Mass Effect 5 to somebody else rockpapershotgun.com
- 223,000+ people sign petition to "save Mass Effect" gamesindustry.biz
