A collectible description may or may not have spoiled a returning character for the next Mass Effect [Updated]

[Updated on May @ 9:40 AM ET] – In a Tweet I clearly missed, BioWare Project Director Michael Gamble stated that the description was “a mistake,” and “was written by the people who run the store and aren’t familiar with the game :).” It’s not an outright denial that the next Mass Effect will have Shepard as a returning character, but developers are often coy. We’ll know for sure once BioWare and Electronic Arts are ready to share more.

The original story, posted on May 10, is as follows.

We don’t know who’s returning in Mass Effect 4, or whatever the next game will be called. Out of the two teases we’ve had before, we can gather that the game will bring the return of Liara and the Geth. In the first teaser, we watch as who we assume is Liara searching for something. The broken piece of metal with the N7 logo hints that it may be Shepard she’s looking for. The next game will no doubt answer our burning questions on how the Normandy crew fared after the last game. However, a new collectible for the next Mass Effect may have broken the silence and spoiled the return of at least one character from the series.

From here on, it’s spoiler town. I read the info so you don’t have to. You’re welcome. As spotted by VGC via YouTuber MrHulthen, a new item added to the BioWare Gear Store came with a description that clearly didn’t get checked. A lithograph featuring the Geth-head-shaped crater from the second teaser went on sale for $45 USD. It’s description, before it was changed, read: “While Shepard and the survivors are left to pick up the pieces, fans are left wondering what’s next.”

Shepard is a big name to drop this early in development. The description that replaced the original was more of your standard affair, involving the end of the Reaper threat while removing any mention of Shepard. At the time of writing, the description has been replaced again, this time without any game story details.

You weren’t supposed to see that

So, is Commander Shepard a returning character in the next Mass Effect? The lithograph’s description certainly alludes as much, and suggests they’ll be back in the lead role. Of course, this does leave us wondering again how the next Mass Effect will jump off the third game’s three-flavor ending and also have Shepard return. The commander’s fate was decided by which ending you chose. There was one, however, in which they survived and carried on.

We may know more about the new Mass Effect very shortly. Summer Game Fest is returning in June, and Electronic Arts will no doubt want to stoke the flames of anticipation soon. It may choose the fest to showcase more. That’ll make sense, since EA won’t have it’s own event this year.