This year’s N7 goodies seem to actually be telling us something for a change. The Mass Effect 5 update, delivered through a blog post commemorating the RPG series’ annual day of celebration, is cryptic as expected. In it, BioWare executive Mike Gamble waxes lyrical about how much the team appreciates us fans and our patience, reinforcing that the developer is still hard at work on Mass Effect 5. Notably, there is no indication that EA’s $55-billion buyout has complicated matters.
Gamble also shares that the new Mass Effect TV show will take place after the events of Commander Shepard’s trilogy — “because after all… that’s YOUR story, isn’t it?” He then assures us that there definitely isn’t a hidden meaning in his message. But the cheeky bugger was lying, of course.
You don’t need my decades of proofreading experience to spot the nine italicized letters scattered throughout the blog post, spelling out a mysterious URL fragment. Long story short, a new Mass Effect 5 image is now in our hands, depicting a Krogan soldier leading an army, captioned “civil war.”
With a pivotal choice at the end of Mass Effect 3 indicating only one way this many Krogan could be around in the new game, could this be confirmation of BioWare reneging on its commitment not to canonize player choice? Or could it actually be telling us the opposite — that it will respect our decisions and find unique ways to do so?
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### If There’s One Thing I’ve Learned About Krogans
Mass Effect’s hardiest alien race loves a good battle. Built like stocky, turtle-like tanks, Krogans are born with an innate militarial understanding that makes them excellent soldiers and generals. That’s why many Mass Effect 3 players, myself included, opted to cure their genetic disease and enlist the Krogan army as a war asset.
Whether or not you view the genophage as a necessary act of biological warfare inflicted upon the Krogan by Turians, in an effort to control birthrates and prevent another Krogan uprising, deciding to cure it is a pivotal moment in Mass Effect 3. Freeing a race from centuries of forced eugenics feels like one of the less morally challenging choices in the game — the opposite of which there are many, especially when the alternative is deceiving your old friend Urdnot Wrex (if he’s alive to see it) and being a bit of a bastard. For the greater good, some might argue, but I disagree.
After poring over the new picture of a Krogan civil war for far too long, my first thought was that it could only mean one thing: Mass Effect 5 will show the genophage cured for good, allowing the Krogan race to proliferate — as well as exploring the consequences of ignoring the Turian warning of a second Krogan war should their combative natures get the better of them.
It certainly looks that way in the image Mike Gamble pointed us to.
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### But What About Player Choice?
If BioWare commits to that choice — something that would have rippling effects throughout the Mass Effect universe — what other player-based outcomes could it canonize in ME5?
Another huge decision players can make in ME3 is the destruction of all synthetics, with galaxy-wide implications that would surely be referenced in future games. But realistically, there’s only so much we can expect to see reflected in ME5.
As our very own BioWare superfan Heather Wald pointed out in relation to *Dragon Age: The Veilguard*’s limited array of choices carried over from *Inquisition*, seeing which major choices will be honored in the new Mass Effect game also means accepting that some will not.
So much happened in the trilogy, and it would be a staggering amount of work to accommodate every variation of ME3’s endings in the next big installment.
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### Between a Rock and a Hard-Headed Place
That said, the confirmed Krogan presence in Mass Effect 5 could also be explained in the context of an un-cured genophage. Even with their limited numbers, Shepard’s betrayal in procuring a fake cure in Mass Effect 3 could have sparked a civil war between those Krogan who wanted a cure and those who defected and joined forces with the Citadel.
This scenario would set up an intriguing galaxy where the Krogan become even more hostile to outsiders than before, turning them into a powerful adversary for whoever our new player character might be.
The fact that the Krogan’s ongoing existence in Mass Effect 5 could be the result of either outcome gives me hope that BioWare will let us carry that decision across. The parameters seem flexible enough that a Krogan civil war is possible regardless of what you chose in Shepard’s final act, which makes it all the more exciting to theorize how BioWare might implement it.
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### Final Thoughts
Again, this is pure speculation, but I’m glad to have more than just a seconds-long video of someone walking (thanks, 2023) to chew over this year. Though, I mean, an extra little something wouldn’t have gone unappreciated.
Here’s hoping BioWare’s cryptic messaging means big things are coming — and that our choices will truly matter in Mass Effect 5.
https://www.gamesradar.com/games/mass-effect/n7-day-2025-could-be-hinting-that-mass-effect-5-will-make-a-specific-mass-effect-3-ending-canon-but-i-cant-tell-which-one/