Mass Effect composer Sam Hulick has shared a reimagined take on the leaked Universe trailer following the cancellation of the sequel.
Last month, game developers BioWare confirmed that they had started work on Mass Effect 5 but the project was being scrapped and the entire studio was being shut down by EA.
Following the news of Mass Effect 5’s cancellation, one ex-BioWare employee shared a work-in-progress trailer of the new game and more than 320,000 people have signed a petition asking EA to “commit to the continued development of Mass Effect” or allow another publisher to take over the IP.
Now Sam Hulick, who worked on the music of original Mass Effect as well as the 2010 and 2012 sequels, has given that leaked Universe trailer a new soundtrack.
In a post on his Patreon, Hulick explained that so much of his identity as a composer is “inextricably linked” with the Mass Effect trilogy. “Working on the first three games helped me not only find my musical voice, but also develop the skills needed to work on major video game projects. What better way to cut your teeth than by being thrown into the deep end on what would be one of the most cherished and popular video game series of all time!”
He returned to Mass Effect to rework some older tracks for the remastered Legendary edition of the sci-fi game and kept in contact with the team as they started work on Mass Effect 5. “I remained cautiously optimistic about my shot at being a part of the new game.”
Earlier this year, they reached out about scoring an internal demo for Mass Effect 5. “I knew BioWare wanted to do something new with the music, and I wanted to be conscious about not just repeating the same formula used in the original trilogy. Fans really loved the Mass Effect end-credits song by Faunts, and I thought it would’ve been incredible to bring more songs with lyrics into the game. This would’ve been a great way to highlight more emotional moments in the narrative,” says Hulick who had been hoping to collaborate with moody, cinematic synthwave artists such as Gunship, NINA and The Midnight.
He was still building a musical palette for Mass Effect 5 when he was told the project was being scrapped. “This trailer is my way of saying goodbye…at least for now,” said Hulick, describing the track as a “love letter to fans”.
Meanwhile Austin Wintory, the Grammy-winning composer behindJourney and Sword Of The Sea, was also in conversation with BioWare about scoring Mass Effect 5. Following the game’s cancellation, he shared 20 minutes of music he had created for the project.
Despite the shutdown of BioWare, the TV adaptation of Mass Effect is still going ahead, according to IGN sources. A documentary about the studio is also in the works.
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