Former Mass Effect devs know "there's a hunger" for big RPGs, so there's an "unbelievable amount of pressure" when making their upcoming sci-fi romp Exodus

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Former Mass Effect devs know "there's a hunger" for big RPGs, so there's an "unbelievable amount of pressure" when making their upcoming sci-fi romp Exodus News By Kaan Serin Contributions from Ali Jones published 8 February 2026

"We just have a very high bar we have to deliver on"

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(Image credit: Archetype Entertainment)

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The former Mass Effect developers behind the very Mass Effect-esque sci-fi game Exodus know players have a big appetite for the kinds of epic RPGs that the team cut their teeth on, so there's a huge amount of pressure to live up to the hype.

"We know there's a hunger out there," Exodus narrative director, Drew Karpyshyn, says in an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+, this website here. "We're fans as well. We know the kind of games we like, and we know the audience is waiting for the next big one of these to drop, and that gives us a huge opportunity to fill that need. But it's an unbelievable amount of pressure, because their expectations are rightfully very high, and we're working very hard to make sure we meet those expectations."

Drew Karpyshyn himself was a writer on the first two Mass Effect games before becoming a novelist (and then coming back to game dev with other BioWare veterans at developer Archetype Entertainment). With a collective resume of some legendary games and that kind of pedigree at the studio, expectations are definitely high, but Karpyshyn's ready to meet them.

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"It's an incredible opportunity," he adds. "And we just have a very high bar we have to deliver on. That's one of the reasons making games is so hard, because the bar keeps getting elevated by all the great games that came before. You need to take it to another level."

"As a gamer, more so than as a game developer, I find over the years I've gotten a little bored," game director Chris King explains. "Some of the franchises I used to play constantly have sort of bailed out. Thinking back on the games I've played [last] year, like Blue Prince, Clair Obscur, Ghost of Yotei, I'm looking for fresh, crazy, new experiences. And I'm hoping that other people are looking for the same thing. We think we have a really interesting take on a sci-fi, open-world, space opera RPG. So that's my hope, that people give us a chance and check something out that I think is interesting and different from what they played before."

Mass Effect veterans don't want side quests to feel "tacked on" to their new sci-fi RPG, and they can't add everything or "the game would be thousands of hours"

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES Xbox Series X PS5 PC Gaming Platforms Xbox PlayStation Kaan SerinFreelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

With contributions from

• Ali JonesManaging Editor, News

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