EA could make “easy money” on remasters of the original Mass Effect games, but the publisher is unlikely to make them in part because they could distract from Mass Effect: Andromeda. This is according to EA executive Peter Moore, who said in a new interview that EA probably won’t pursue any remaster projects across its entire catalog because it would rather look to the future. This statement comes not long after EA Studios boss Patrick Soderlund gave fans a glimmer of hope that EA might make remasters.
“We’re a company that is focused on delivering for the future,” he told IGN. “I was asked a question once [about remasters and I said] it’s just not what we do. We’ve got incredibly talented dev studios around the world who are focused on delivering new IP, new experiences, [and] more and more live services.”
“Can we make an easy buck on remastering Mass Effect? Yes. Have a thousand people asked me that? Yes, they have,” he added. “We just feel like we want to go forward. There’s a little thing called Mass Effect: Andromeda that we’re totally focused on at BioWare and it’s gonna be magnificent.”
Moore went on to say that “anything that distracts” from Andromeda, including Mass Effect remasters, is not something EA would want to pursue. Also, he suggested EA doesn’t have the internal bandwidth to make Mass Effect remasters.
“Do we have teams lying around that are doing nothing right now that [can go and make remasters]? No we don’t. We want to focus on the future and delivering new IP and new experiences,” he explained. “There’s easy money to be made all over this industry. But the real focus should be on being player-first and focused on delivering new IP and new experiences and that’s where our real focus is.”
As the interviewer pointed out, if EA sees itself as a player-first company, why would it not release Mass Effect remasters if that’s what fans want? It’s not that simple, Moore said.
“Is there demand? Yes, there’s thousands of people who want it. Do we need millions? I don’t know,” he said, adding that there would be costs beyond the financial ones to releasing Mass Effect remasters. “Our blinders are on and [we are] looking toward future.”
Moore went on to say that a lot of people want EA to make Skate 4 and a new Fight Night game.
“We’re a 34-year-old company that has thousands of pieces of IP around the world. Road Rash!” he said. “If you allow yourself to take the easy road–not to diss remastering great franchises, but there are so many opportunities for us to have people go to something else.”
Go watch the full IGN interview here.
EA has, to date, avoided entering the game-remastering business, even speaking out against the practice. Hopeful fans got some better news earlier this month when Soderlund said EA is “absolutely” looking into the remaster space, though Moore’s comments would suggest remaster projects are by no means a priority for EA.
Andromeda is slated for release between January and March of 2017.