Electronic Arts seems to have warmed up to the idea of remastering games for new hardware, as the company is now “actively looking at” doing so, according to executive vice president for EA Studios Patrick Soderland.
In an interview with GameInformer, Soderland explained that while EA was originally against the idea of re-releasing old games on new consoles, fan demand and proof of market has shifted the company’s mindset on the subject.
”What’s changed is that there is proof in the market that people want it, maybe more than there was when we spoke. There were some that did it before, but I think there is even more clear evidence that this is something that people really want. The honest answer is that we are absolutely actively looking at it. I can’t announce anything today, but you can expect us most likely to follow our fellow partners in Activision and other companies that have done this successfully.”
When asked about specific games that EA might be looking into releasing on current-gen consoles, such as a Mass Effect remaster, Soderland stated that the company’s choices for remasters would be determined by a number of factors, such as whether or not a game can be improved on new hardware and if the timing of a re-release makes sense for that specific game makes sense.
“We have to be careful in choosing the right brands for the right reasons at the right time,” Soderland explained. “A remaster is something that you can just do or do it really well. I want to make sure that if we were to do it, we would do it really well and that people feel that it’s the same game but it feels so much better in this new shape and form. There have been titles that have come out that have done it really well, and there have been others that maybe haven’t done it so well. We just want to make sure that we stay in the ‘done it really well’ camp.”
A Mass Effect trilogy remaster for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has been rumored for several years thanks to retailer listings, but until now EA has been steadfast in not wanting to touch up old games for new consoles, instead focusing on new games and ideas. With the next game in the series, Mass Effect: Andromeda, set to launch next year, the timing to revisit the original games seems in line with Soderland’s reasoning.
For more on the Mass Effect trilogy, check out CGM’s review of Mass Effect 3.
