Deus Ex and Guardians of the Galaxy writer working on Mass Effect 5, confirms Bioware

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Mary DeMarle joins the developer as senior narrative director

Mass Effect 5
(Image credit: BioWare)

One of the lead writers behind Deus Ex and Guardians of the Galaxy has joined Bioware to work on the next entry in the Mass Effect series.

You might not be familiar with the name Mary DeMarle, but you'll definitely know the games she's lent her writing talent to. She joined Eidos Montreal in 2007 and worked as lead writer and narrative designer on Deus Ex: Human Revolution and its sequel Mankind Divided. Most recently, she's penned Marvel's Guardian of the Galaxy, which, as well as winning the hearts of fans, took home the trophy for Best Narrative at The Game Awards 2021. 

DeMarle has announced her move to Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer Bioware on her LinkedIn page. Apart from stating her role as a senior narrative director, she didn't specify what upcoming projects she would be involved in. But in news that's sure to please Mass Effect fans, a tweet from Michael Gamble, Project Director at BioWare, has revealed that she's working on the next instalment in the epic sci-fi series.

"I'm really excited to let you know that Mary DeMarle will be joining the Mass Effect team as Senior Narrative Director," wrote Gamble. "You've seen her work in Guardians of the Galaxy & Deus Ex (to name a few!). She's amazing."

The move comes after Square Enix announced in May that it was selling Eidos-Montreal along with Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics to Embracer Group for an eye-watering $300 million. At the time, Embracer Group said it "sees an opportunity to invest" in these series, "as well as the additional acquired IPs such as Legacy of Kain, Thief, and other original franchises."

Not much is known about the next Mass Effect so far, not even its official name, and the sequel apparently won't begin full development until 2023. Back in May, it seemed like a description for an N7 Lithograph on the BioWare store had let slip the return of Commander Shepard, but this was swiftly deemed a "mistake" by Bioware. While we still don't know whether we'll see the series' protagonist return, the voice actors for Shepard, Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, have said they'd like to come back for Mass Effect 5.

Take a look at our Mass Effect 5 guide for everything we know so far about the new Bioware adventure.

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Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and 12DOVE. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.

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