A former EA manager has cast doubt on whether Mass Effect 5 will survive the company's recent $55 billion takeover.The long-awaited next installment in BioWare's beloved sci-fi series has been in early development for some time by a small team, though still lacks any form of release window. And there are longer term concerns among BioWare fans for the future of the studio itself, after its post-Dragon Age: The Veilguard downsizing.BioWare is fully owned by EA, which this month went private in a leveraged buyout worth $55 billion backed in large part by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, as well as the U.S. private equity firm Silver lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. Analysts now expect EA's new owners to begin seeking a return on their investment, with obvious avenues here being a doubling down on the company's hugely lucrative sports franchises, as well as key shooter franchise Battlefield.But what about everything else that EA owns? Between EA Sports FC and Madden, where does BioWare factor in? This is a subject that former EA senior manager Emmanuel Rosier has now discussed with PC Gamer, following a tenure that lasted nearly a decade."In the middle you have these IPs like the BioWare IPs," said Rosier, now director of market intelligence at industry analyst firm Newzoo. "They've been struggling as a studio, as a brand have been struggling in recent years, and I don't know if they will keep funding that one. I think that's the biggest question mark for me."Here, Rosier is referring to BioWare's recent list of releases, many of which have underperformed. After the franchise-best sales of Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare sought live-service success with Anthem, then spent the best part of a decade on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Both underperformed. Mass Effect, meanwhile, has seen mixed success. Mass Effect Andromeda is widely considered a disappointment among fans, though the series' more recent Legendary Edition remaster was well-received.Will EA's new owners allow BioWare to keep rolling the dice on Mass Effect once more, and continue on with its development? "I will believe it when I see it, the next Mass Effect game, let's put it that way," Rosier stated, noting that BioWare projects typically take a very long time to release, something that sees development costs spiral."I've worked many years with BioWare, sometimes it can stretch for years and years until something comes," he continued. "I think everything can happen at this moment. They can pull the plug very, very easily. And if the new investor, they don't have that many feelings about the history of the portfolio, they will take the most financially sound decision most probably."While there's still no suggestion of when Mass Effect 5 will actually arrive, BioWare has spent the past half a decade gradual teasing its setting and story. We know that Mass Effect 5 will be set hundreds of years after Mass Effect 3, and feature a narrative that re-centers the action on the franchise's original Milky Way setting, long after the Reapers were defeated. Presumably, by the point Mass Effect 5 is set, the many ripples of your ME3 ending choices will have largely smoothed out.Fan-favorite character Liara is back, hundreds of years older, as are the geth. Andromeda races are also expected to make an appearance, suggesting contact has been made with the colonists that travelled there. The intervening years have been rough on the warlike krogan, who fought a civil war. But there's still an N7 program — and it looks a lot like you'll be playing a fresh member of its elite ranks. Romance is also (of course) making a return, and it sounds like the Paragon/Renegade system will be back, too.Hopefully bridging the gap to Mass Effect 5 will be Amazon Prime Video's live-action Mass Effect series, which is taking its time to go into full production but currently sounds like it might actually get made. This will also be set after the events of Mass Effect 3, and tell a fresh story that sounds like it will ease fans towards ME5's era. Earlier this year, Mass Effect TV series co-showrunner Daniel Casey refuted a report that suggested the upcoming adaptation had recently undergone rewrites to be "more appealing to non-gamers." Will the existence of this TV project encourage EA bosses to keep BioWare cooking? Time will tell.Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social