In a strange bookend to the week, it seems another former Mass Effect senior developer's new undertaking is feeling the current industry pressure. Worlds Untold, established by NetEase Games and led by ME trilogy writer Mac Walters, is "pausing operations" until sufficient funding can be found.
Walters released a statement announcing that studio employees will be free to seek employment elsewhere as leadership attempts to find a new partner (thanks, VGC). This is quite an odd situation, as NetEase Games only established the team in November 2023, based in Canada. Walters wrote: "It's hard to find the right words for this, but I wanted to share that we've made the very difficult decision to pause operations at Worlds Untold while we search for a new partner to help bring our vision to life."
Financial certainty is in short supply these days. Fellow BioWare veteran Casey Hudson's outfit, Human Origin, announced the cancellation of its game on Monday, along with the studio's closure. Walters does leave on a somewhat positive note, so perhaps there's more to the story: "While we're pausing for now, this isn't goodbye—there's more to come, and we look forward to sharing the next chapter with you when the time is right."