Mass Effect Andromeda creative director suggests fans should keep their saves

Mass Effect: Andromeda's creative director Mac Walters has advised fans to hold on to their saves after playing the hotly-anticipated sci-fi RPG. Developer BioWare has previously stated that the upcoming space adventure game will not be the beginning of a new trilogy for the franchise and is meant to be a self-contained story. However, the developer did not rule out the possibility of future sequels set in the brand new Andromeda galaxy.

"I don't think it would hurt to keep them," Walters said in a recent discussion with Game Informer, Walters said referring to players' Andromeda saves. "Right now, to be honest, we are focused on this game, and as I've said to people before, we very much think of Andromeda as a series. What we do with that series is TBD at this point."

"I think right now, we know we don't want it to be a trilogy, in the sense of, we're planning this three-part story in three games. But that said, key elements like the Pathfinders, even the Ryders themselves, those are things that are going to make another appearance in the next game."

He also added that the developer had not revealed much about the structure of the Andromeda series so far to avoid "locking in" on a vision at the moment, rather that due to technical concerns.

While Andromeda will include references to the original three games in the Shepard series, Walters said that the upcoming game would be completely "a fresh start" and a "clean break" from the original trilogy.

Walters also touched on Andromeda's ending as well, noting that the conclusion will be "complex" and a "big, bold ending much like Mass Effect 1 was." He also added that it would have variations in narrative such as in Mass Effect 2.

In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Walters described Andromeda as "more of a persistent experience, more of an open world than we've done before."

"Even once the critical path story, the main narrative, is done there's still a lot to accomplish. It's a game of exploration, so if we wanted to create a space for a new follower we can do it. It's more a question of will we do it, at this point. I wasn't ruling it out, I think I meant, but it's certainly possible we'll bring in new characters before we get to a Mass Effect Andromeda 2."

He also noted that fans shouldn't worry about the game's official release date which has yet to be announced.

"BioWare is all about quality and believe me - the team is extremely aware of how fast that is coming. But we're focusing on that - that's our objective. Maybe we'll need two extra days? When we're 100% confident we can go to certification on a certain date, then we'll give a very specific date. In the meantime, we're focusing on quality and every day counts. We don't want to pressure that."

In terms of Andromeda's development status, the team is working on "polish and balance" at the moment, Walters said.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is set to release in the first quarter of 2017 for PS4, Xbox and PC.