BioWare Montreal Studio Director Yanick Roy took to the Bioware blog today to highlight the studio and reassure fans that the Mass Effect franchise is in good hands.

BioWare Montreal will be creating the next Mass Effect game, and is already in development on the title. Roy pointed out that the Montreal studio built “about half of the cinematics” for Mass Effect 2, and also most of the N7 missions. For Mass Effect 3, love it or hate it, BioWare Montreal was in charge of the multiplayer aspect. Most recently, the team created the Omega DLC for Mass Effect 3, due out on November 27.

It can be unnerving for fans when a beloved franchise is put into the hands of a new development studio, particularly one with little experience creating an entire AAA title. However, as the furor over the ending of Mass Effect 3 shows, stagnation can also hurt a franchise. Roy did state that BioWare Montreal won’t be alone during development, though. From the blog post:

To ensure a proper and effective transition, we’ll continue to be supported by the Edmonton studio through the game’s development, working with and learning from them on some critical initiatives. On top of that, Casey remains the Executive Producer, but he will have a Project Director under him, working in Montreal, leading our development team and making day-to-day decisions for the game. We all care very much about Mass Effect and make our decisions based on what’s best for the game.

Unfortunately, Roy did not release many details for the upcoming Mass Effect title. The only bit he mentioned is that the game will be built using the Frostbite 2 engine, the same one used for Battlefield 3 and the upcoming Dragon Age III: Inquisition. He also stated that the new game will be “very respectful” of the Mass Effect trilogy and that the switch to a new game engine means the developers are “exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts.”