Mass Effect | Composer Austin Wintory Shares Unreleased Score Work After BioWare Closure

A white whale, a love letter, and nearly 20 minutes of music that will never score a new adventure.

Acclaimed composer Austin Wintory (known for Journey, ABZÛ, The Pathless, Aliens: Fireteam Elite and many more) has publicly shared nearly 20 minutes of original music he created while in serious discussions with BioWare and EA about joining the next Mass Effect project. The material was posted on October 26, 2026, five days after EA announced the closure of BioWare and the cancellation of the early-development Mass Effect game.

In a series of posts, Wintory described the franchise as his “ultimate white whale” and “all-time dream project.” He explained that for the last couple of years he had been in conversation with the studio and publisher. As part of that dialogue, and without knowledge of any specific narrative plans, he produced an elaborate speculative score last year featuring synths, vocals and a large orchestra recorded in Los Angeles. The intention was to treat the original Jack Wall / Sam Hulick work as a foundation while exploring a deeper use of physical, analog synths and a more tightly interwoven orchestra — “a love letter first and foremost.”

He released the music with the following comments:

Working on Mass Effect 5 was my career’s biggest dream project, my white whale. 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, and to build on it from there with deeper use of physical, analog synths and a more tightly interwoven use of the orchestra. But a love letter first and foremost (not unlike my approach to the Aliens franchise with Fireteam Elite)

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. 

Receiving the news alongside everyone else that EA had decided to not only cancel the project but shutdown BioWare entirely was a deeply felt loss. It’s been hard to see dear friends lose their jobs, and this beloved franchise seemingly vanish forever. 

Thank you nonetheless to everyone at BioWare and EA’s music department for gifting me the chance to dream in your sandbox. It was a privilege to do even that much.

Wintory expanded on the personal impact in further remarks shared alongside the posts: working on Mass Effect 5 had been his career’s biggest dream. Receiving the news that EA had cancelled the project and shut down BioWare entirely was “a deeply felt loss.” He noted how difficult it has been to see friends lose their jobs and the franchise seemingly vanish. He closed by thanking everyone at BioWare and EA’s music department for the chance to dream in their sandbox, calling it a privilege.

The full piece of music is available on YouTube via the link in Wintory’s posts. The BioWare closure and cancellation of the next Mass Effect title were confirmed by the studio and EA on October 21, 2026, as part of broader job cuts following the company’s recent ownership change.

Source: Austin Wintory