Published Oct 22, 2026, 12:29 PM EDT

Patricia is the former editor-in-chief of Kotaku , where she spent a decade writing and editing. Prior to that, she served as the Culture Editor at Polygon , and as a reporter at The Verge . Hernandez specializes in Pokémon TCG, Nintendo, and offbeat internet culture stories.

A short clip teases what is essentially Mass Effect 5

Sign in to your Polygon.com account

After news of BioWare's closure broke , fans were confused: how could Mass Effect 5 still be in "early" development if it was announced five years ago, in 2020? The next day, a short clip allegedly from the project leaked online, and it seems to answer the question of where Mass Effect 5' s development progress actually stood.

What is Mass Effect: Universe?

The footage refers to an unannounced title called Mass Effect: Universe , and begins with a warning that it was made with pre-production assets by a small team.…