
- Video game composer Austin Wintory shared early musical drafts as his pitch to score Mass Effect 5.
- He released a 22-minute YouTube video, featuring eight unreleased tracks for the next Mass Effect.
- Wintory created the music as a "love letter" to the original series composers while in talks with EA and BioWare to score the game.
Austin Wintory, the composer behind titles such as Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Sword of the Sea, and Journey, has shared his early Mass Effect 5 musical pitch, featuring multiple orchestral tracks, days after EA shuttered BioWare on October 21, 2026.
According to the composer, he was in talks with EA and BioWare about composing the next Mass Effect, reportedly called Mass Effect Universe, before EA closed the legendary studio and cancelled development.
He released a YouTube video on his channel on October 27, 2026, also called Austin Wintory, revealing 22 minutes of unreleased orchestral tracks for Mass Effect 5, and here are the eight tracks he has revealed:
- The Legacy of Shepard
- Sailing the Relays
- Scanning
- To Fight For Something More Than Credits
- Something Different, Something Older
- Hold the Line
- Forever Calibrating
- The Legacy of Shepard (Remix)
Austin Wintory describes working on Mass Effect 5’s music as his “career’s biggest dream project,” and the unreleased soundtrack is a love letter to the original Mass Effect’s soundtrack, composed by Jack Wall and Sam Hulick.
In the YouTube description, he writes, “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.”
Wintory confirms that EA and BioWare never hired him, and he knew nothing about Mass Effect 5’s story. Instead, he composed the music as a “love letter” to the original series composers Jack Wall and Sam Hulick.
He then shared his grievance about BioWare’s shutdown, concluding, “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.”
Millions around the industry are feeling the impact of BioWare’s loss, with petitions like #SaveMassEffect crossing 200,000 signatures within a week. However, hope remains as a former BioWare executive suggests EA could sell the Mass Effect and Dragon Age IPs, potentially saving both iconic video game franchises.