More Mass Effect games after third one

BioWare co-founder Dr Greg Zeschuk has said the developer will continue to create games in the Mass Effect universe following the completion of the current trilogy.

Mass Effect 2 launches on PC and 360 next week, and BioWare has long since said that the third game would complete this story arc, but Zeschuk told Kotaku that the "valuable" setting of the games will endure.

"We're actually going to continue to use it for stuff and we're going to continue to make games there," he explained.

"Believe me, we have our work cut out for us for the next little while getting Mass Effect 3 done after this. Don't worry if you love Mass Effect, [because] there will be more Mass Effect in the future."

Mass Effect 2 puts you back in the space boots of Commander Shepard and on the trail of a new intergalactic menace which has been abducting human colonists. Shepard becomes involved with the Cerberus organisation and recruits a new team to tackle this mysterious threat.

As for Mass Effect 3, Zeschuk reiterated that decisions made throughout the series will have consequences that personalise the story right through to the end.

"Even to the point where some of the decisions you made in 1 you'll see the result in 3," he added. "There will be stuff that you will feel is yours that you've created in that third iteration."

There's no word on when we should expect Mass Effect 3, but the first game came out in November 2007, and with the second due this month, sometime in late 2012 or early 2013 seems a good bet. Whack it in your diary, eh?

Check out our Mass Effect retrospective to see what all the fuss is about.