It has been common news for a while that Mass Effect’s beloved protagonist, Commander Shepard, will not be returning in the newest installment by Bioware, Mass Effect: Andromeda. This news has received a variety of responses from the fanbase, ranging from intrigued to critically skeptical.
The developers, now having moved from the completion of Dragon Age: Inquisition, have been adamant in stressing that Andromeda is not a Mass Effect 4, otherwise, they would have named it that. According to the story (not yet officially released), and senior development director Chris Wynn, having Shepard, and other familiar faces, for that matter, in the game just would not make sense.
Wynn asked that the fans be open minded to a figurative and literal universe of new content, new alien races and species, new places to explore. He stated that the game can be good without Shepard, but did not rule out in-game references. The trilogy itself ended, as did Shepard’s story, but the universe continues on, and this is what the fans will get to see in Andromeda.