November 7 is known amongst Mass Effect fans as N7 Day, a day in which BioWare shares new bits about the Mass Effect franchise. Sometimes, they even offer some teasers on the future of the franchise as was the case with 2022's N7 Day.
N7 Day for 2023 was no exception. The studio offered a new teaser for the next Mass Effect title, be it called Mass Effect 5, Mass Effect 4, or something else entirely. This was the new Mass Effect that was first teased back at The Game Awards 2020.
The teaser came from a series of even shorter clips posted throughout the day. Thankfully, BioWare released a "complete" version of the teaser, which you are able to view now. There is also apparently a new lithograph for sale showing off the mysterious figure.
This teaser for a new Mass Effect comes at a troubling time at BioWare. The studio laid off around 50 employees back in August. This led to a lawsuit against BioWare where seven former developers demanded better severance. A recent Kotaku report says that BioWare has "refused any offers to negotiate and settle out of court."
These developers say that they should be receiving at least one month of severance pay per year of service. As it stands, the employees that were laid off are only getting two weeks of severance pay per year at the company. According to a lawyer for the former employees, Alex Kennedy, this discrepancy comes down to a contract provision that he believes is unenforceable. Those suing BIoWare also believe that the studio is utilizing delay tactics to try to stall the lawsuit in hopes that the former devs end up dropping the lawsuit.
Another report, this time from Game Developer, says that quality assurance testers from Keywords Studios, who were let go in a different round of layoffs, are picketing outside BioWare Edmonton. BioWare terminated their contract with Keywords Studios in October. It just so happens that this QA team formed a labor union a year prior to BioWare terminating the contract with the company. The union is obviously none too happy about this move that they see as a form of union busting on the part of BioWare. EA and BioWare attempted to block the protest and picketing but failed in their efforts.
