14 DAY TRIAL // A source familiar with the development process has claimed that the new video game project which BioWare has teased yesterday is not Mass Effect 3 or a whole new game concept but a multiplayer focused spin off which is developed by the Montreal studio and will try to attract some of the crowd which currently enjoys first person shooters like the Call of Duty series.
The science fiction based Mass Effect has always had deep role playing game characteristics, even if the second game in the series tried to be more action oriented and emphasized the direct, over the shoulder shooter element.
The source has told Kotaku that the new game will have a deep player progression system, similar to that of Call of Duty, opening up new weapons, new armor and new character perks for those who level up via experience gain.
The rumor is supported by the fact that BioWare Montreal has been seeking to hire programmers that, the job announcement says, can take inspiration from single player games and translate the mechanics into the multiplayer environment.
Previously Greg Zeschuk, one of the two co founders of BioWare, had talked about the possibilities opened up by the success of the Mass Effect series, saying that his company is still committed to the single player focused trilogy but that spin offs are a real possibility.
After offering players a short trailer, which lacked any clear information on the new game, and an image of a man ready to shoot a rifle in what seems like a proto Mass Effect setting, BioWare also tweeted two bar codes.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun deciphered them and found that one was the atomic weight of iron while the other pointed to the lowest temperature registered on Earth, in a place called Vostok.
The full answer will be delivered at the Spike Video Games Awards that are set to take place on December 11.