Inside Social Games reports that BioWare San Francisco (formerly EA's EA2D studio) has posted a want-ad for a producer to lead a new social gaming project. Given the timing and the success of the company's Dragon Age: Legends tie-in game, it's certainly possible that the studio is planning the launch of a social game set in the Mass Effect universe. The fact that the job posting describes the project as a "social game for gamers" certainly sets off my "this is based on a console franchise" alert.
Our friend A.J. Glasser at Inside Social Games agrees, writing:
EA doesn't seem like it would hold back from pushing for its EA Partner studios (like BioWare) for more social games after getting favorable results from Dragon Age and The Sims.
As far as Mass Effect goes, we'll have to wait and see what shakes out on Facebook as the console game's March 6, 2012 release date approaches. … It's also worth noting that the official fan Page(maintained through the Mass Effect 2 Page) has 739,036 Likes as of today - a healthy pool of potential players for a Mass Effect social game.
While I didn't love Dragon Age: Legends, I was surprised at how much I liked it, and a similar game set in the Mass Effect universe could be a fun way to while away the hours while waiting for the full game to release next March.
...or, it could be a the second coming of the disastrous iOS game Mass Effect Galaxy. I guess we'll find out soon enough.
Could BioWare Be Preparing a Mass Effect Social Game? [Inside Social Games]
You can contact Kirk Hamilton, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.