A little late to the party, the next Mass Effect was reportedly set to explore the multiverse. Well, maybe in one of those alternate realities, Electronic Arts still has a spine, who knows. Following the crushing news of BioWare's closure, Grammy-winning composer Austin Wintory (Journey, Sword of the Sea) came forward, revealing he was slated to score the upcoming Mass Effect 5, dubbed Universe. A longtime fan of the franchise, he posted a video titled "Mass Effect Universe: The Music That Might Have Been," sharing eight early drafts written for the now-scrapped sequel.
"Working on Mass Effect 5 was my career's biggest dream project, my white whale," writes the prolific composer in his video's description. "It is my favorite franchise of all time, and for the last couple years I'd been in serious conversations with BioWare and EA to jump in. My suggestion was to treat the original game's masterful Jack Wall / Sam Hulick score as a starting point"—an approach immediately evident across these snippets. Wintory's orchestrations inject a thrilling sense of scale; the trumpet on "Scanning" genuinely gave me chills, while the soaring brass in "To fight for something more than credits" elevates a safe, synth-driven combat cue into something truly cinematic, unlike anything heard in Mass Effect to date.
Austin Wintory's devotion to the franchise feels all the more poignant knowing that these pieces were born of sheer creative initiative. "As part of the ongoing dialogue, I decided last year (2025) to surprise the folks with an elaborate production: nearly 20 minutes of music, fully recorded and produced with synths, vocals and a large orchestra here in LA. I'd not yet learned any narrative details of what they were planning so this was just pure musical exploration." You can catch a glimpse of what Mass Effect Universe might have looked like via this leaked trailer, which has been verified by multiple credible sources.
At least Wintory got to revisit another storied sci-fi universe: just a couple of months ago, he jumped back on board to score Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2.
