A since-deleted item description for a N7 Day lithograph suggests that Mass Effect 4 Shepard will be returning in the much-anticipated revival of the sci-fi BioWare franchise. At the time of this writing, the description has already been altered several times, eventually removing all details about Shepard, the Reapers, and other potential survivors. (Spoiler Alert! The item description and hence this article will talk about the Mass Effect 3 endings!)
How the lithograph description suggests Shepard is alive
As spotted by MrHulthen on YouTube, several paragraphs describing the new Mass Effect 4 “Mysteries of the Future” lithograph on the BioWare Gear Store reveal and confirm a number of details that fans have noticed in the sparse teaser trailers and images for the game.
Looking at the official entry of the $45 poster on the website now, numerous sections have been deleted. But the following three paragraphs have been preserved on one of MrHulsthen’s videos (near the 0:55 mark, posted above):
Shepard’s final quest may have ended the threat of the Reapers but at great cost including Earth itself. While Shepard and the survivors are left to pick up the pieces, fans are left wondering what’s next.
Mass Effect will continue. And with the sneak peek poster we got from the BioWare team as part of the N7 Day 2021, there is a lot to unpack. From countless theories regarding the setting of the next game to the bewilderment on whether Geth would make a comeback, eagle-eyed fans have a lot to make of this Mass Effect Mysteries from the Future Lithograph.
A Krogan and its 4-member team walk towards a Geth-shaped crater with a ship that resembles the Normandy with SFX emblazoned on either side…
It’s unclear from the description if Shepard will continue to be the franchise’s protagonist. But it would seem that your protagonist from the first three Mass Effect games is at least still alive and kicking.
Opinion: The “Destroy” ME3 Ending Is Pretty Much Confirmed
Nick writes… With this deleted description, the broken relay in the teaser trailer, and 45% of fans choosing to obliterate all synthetic life (including Legion and EDI) at the end of Mass Effect 3 according to a BioWare infographic, the red “Destroy” ending is most likely canon for Mass Effect 4. There’s still a vanishingly slim chance that Shepard could be revived using a similar Cerberus process at the start of Mass Effect 2 after perishing in the Synthesis and Control endings, but that seems far-fetched at this point… unless BioWare pulls some kind of Ocarina of Time three-way-split timeline shenanigan.
