By Zachary Ryan

The last few months have seen a steadily increasing amount of news about BioWare’s forthcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda, but it’s easy to forget that we’ve known about the space-faring sequel for a long time — nearly five years to be exact.

So, now that we’re so close to Mass Effect: Andromeda’s release date, let’s take a look back at all the rumors, news, and reveals for the next entry in gaming’s biggest space opera.

T-Minus Five Years

Just as Mass Effect 3 was preparing to launch (get it?), BioWare began dropping hints about a future fourth installment. Associate Producer Mike Gamble went so far as to advise players to hold onto their Mass Effect 3 saves, suggesting Mass Effect 4 was already in the works, although it was confirmed it wouldn’t revolve around Commander Shepard. Some speculated Gamble’s comments could have also been alluding to DLC.

In September of that same year, co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck parted ways with BioWare, but General Manager Aaryn Flynn took the opportunity to make a statement regarding all things Mass Effect, including the future of the Mass Effect series.

Fall of 2012 saw updates from BioWare in quick succession, including news that Mass Effect 4’s hero wouldn’t be “Shepard 2,” that the game was still very early on in development, that the sequel would run on DICE’s powerful Frostbite engine, and that BioWare wanted feedback from fans to help shape what Mass Effect 4 would eventually become.

In February of 2013, BioWare Community Manager Chris Priestly asked fans of the franchise to stop calling the sequel Mass Effect 4, calling it a disservice. Shortly thereafter, statement from BioWare confirmed that development of the next Mass Effect had been handed off to BioWare Montreal while Edmonton began work on a franchise.

Ignition Sequence Activated

In the summer of 2013, BioWare confirmed that the yet unnamed Mass Effect sequel would borrow core features from Dragon Age: Inquisition to help speed up development, but later confirmed it was still a long ways off and the public wouldn’t be seeing anything anytime soon.

In honor of N7 Day 2013, BioWare tweeted photos of staffers working on the next Mass Effect. These cryptic photos showed new enemies, new vehicle, and developers potentially even playing a build of the new Mass Effect. These images were the last real info to come out of BioWare until April 2014 when its Montreal studio director Yanick Roy tweeted to a fan that development was “somewhere in the middle.”

At E3 2014, BioWare announced that Mass Effect 4 would chart a course for new consoles, and showed a brief concept video. During a Mass Effect Panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2014, BioWare again asked fans for their feedback in an effort to make the fourth installment “the best one yet” and confirmed that often maligned vehicle The Mako would return in the sequel.

In honor of N7 day 2014, BioWare publicly announced the team leads for the next Mass Effect, including Halo 4 Senior Writer Chris Schlerf in the Lead Writer’s seat. They also showed off four new pieces of concept art and ensured fans that the team was “stepping [their] game up.”

Engines Engaged

Despite previous statements, BioWare later claimed that Mass Effect 4 wouldn’t be much like Dragon Age: Inquisition thanks to the Frostbite engine and would feature some sort of online component.

In March of 2015 BioWare released a motion capture image showing actors on a green screen stage. Shortly after, a Reddit user claimed to have been given a wealth of information about Mass Effect 4 from a survey about the game. Many of these details were confirmed at E3 2015 when BioWare officially announced the title as Mass Effect: Andromeda and released an official announcement trailer, story details, and a supposed release date of Holiday 2016.

A second trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda was released for N7 day later that year.

Prepared For Lift Off

Two key players dropped off of the project in the ensuing months. First, Director Chris Wynn in December of 2015, followed shortly by Lead Writer Chris Schlerf in February of 2016. In March, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen announced that Mass Effect: Andromeda was being pushed to a Q1 2017 release.

April 2016 saw another survey leak, this one containing gifs and screenshots and showcasing gameplay and renders from a reel of a 2014 build of the game.

During the EA Play press conference at E3 2016, BioWare showed new footage that introduced new Asari and Krogan characters, and teased more information coming in the fall. BioWare also announced that romance would be more natural, that Andromeda’s very different protagonist would be named Ryder, and that Mass Effect 3’s ending wouldn’t effect Andromeda’s plot.

Lift Off!

In September of 2016, BioWare announced that Andromeda’s male and female protagonists were brother and sister this time around. A month later, Dark Horse Comics accidentally outed Andromeda’s release date when they announced that The Art of Mass Effect: Andromeda, a collection they are publishing, would launch “simultaneously with the game!”

2016’s N7 day brought us another round of info. This year, we got more information on story details, a first look at Andromeda’s box art, and a new teaser trailer that suggested Andromeda could take place well after the original trilogy.

Shortly after these reveals, BioWare detailed a new alien race, talked a bit about side missions, potentially crushed our dreams of romancing an Elcor, and gave some additional information on multiplayer, relationships, and Mass Effect 3’s influence.

At CES 2017, a release date was officially confirmed for March 21st, 2017, although it would not be making an appearance on Nintendo Switch. A fresh batch of screenshots was also revealed. As they began closing in on Andromeda’s release, BioWare announced that Andromeda would feature weapon naming and crafting and provided details on some new party members.

IGN spent a whopping three hours with Andromeda in late February, just in time for our IGN First. So far this month, we’ve detailed Andromeda’s player freedom and showcased a ton of awesome new footage.

Look for additional Mass Effect: Andromeda coverage and our Mass Effect: Andromeda Wiki Guide for even more information about the upcoming space romp when it releases next week.