Andromeda took place 600 years after the original trilogy, so many fans assumed that BioWare was calling it quits on Andromeda’s plotlines for the sake of the studio’s future. It seemed to imply not only a return to the Milky Way, but the return of Shepard themself.

Mass Effect 4’s trailer saw Liara journey over a snow-covered planet, climb over the husk of a dead Reaper, and recover a piece of N7 armor. The diasterous debut of Anthem, BioWare’s panned multiplayer RPG, made the return to the Milky Way seem like a natural safe bet in a period of uncertainty. Andromeda’s critical reception was disappointing, Ryder struggled to live up to Shepard’s immense legacy as the original trilogy’s protagonist, and the game’s buggy launch made many fans feel Andromeda was an unworthy sequel to the first three games. From a business perspective, it made sense. When Mass Effect 4’s trailer was first revealed at the Game Awards 2020, many fans understandably assumed that most of the elements from Mass Effect: Andromeda were going to be left behind.

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