Hasbro Says Sci-Fi RPGs “Haven’t Had a Good Game in a Long Time” — Can Exodus Finally Change That?

If you’ve spent the last decade quietly grieving the end of Mass Effect’s golden era, you’re not alone — and apparently, even the CEO of Hasbro feels your pain. Chris Cocks, head of the toy and entertainment giant that owns Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast, recently came out and said what a lot of sci-fi RPG fans have been thinking for years: this genre “hasn’t had a good game in a long time.” His answer to that problem? A little game called Exodus.

This isn’t just corporate hype talk. The people making Exodus have the pedigree to back it up, and they’re not the only ones taking a swing at the Mass Effect-shaped hole in gaming. Here’s the full picture — what Cocks said, what Exodus actually is, and why 2027 might be the year sci-fi RPG fans finally get fed.

What Did Hasbro’s CEO Actually Say?

Cocks was speaking to The Game Business as part of a broader conversation about Hasbro’s billion-dollar push into video games. During that conversation, he made his position on the current state of sci-fi RPGs very clear.

“In 2018 this was true but I think it’s even more true in 2026… it’s a space that hasn’t had a good game in a long time,” Cocks said. “It’s been a while since Mass Effect 2 and 3. I think there’s a big need in the marketplace for that, and we’re certainly seeing that with the fan response. So, while it’s kind of a bold and maybe a risky bet, my hope is that it’ll be a good one. I get to play the game now and then, and I’m pretty pleased with how it’s coming together.”

That’s a pretty candid thing to say publicly when you’re the CEO of the company funding the game — essentially calling out a genre gap and betting real money on filling it. But Cocks isn’t wrong. Mass Effect Andromeda landed in 2017, failed to capture what made the trilogy so beloved, and nothing has really stepped into that BioWare-style cinematic sci-fi RPG space convincingly since.

What Is Exodus?

Exodus is being developed by Archetype Entertainment, a Texas-based studio that sits under Wizards of the Coast, which in turn is owned by Hasbro. The studio was founded by some very recognizable names: James Ohlen, who led design on games like Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur’s Gate; Chad Robertson; and Drew Karpyshyn, who was the lead writer on the original Mass Effect trilogy. Science fiction author Peter F. Hamilton is also involved as a creative consultant for the game’s expanded universe.

The Mass Effect comparison writes itself, and it’s one that basically everyone who has seen the game makes almost immediately. The look, feel, aesthetic, music sensibility, cover-based squad combat — it’s all very familiar in the best possible way. But Exodus isn’t a straight Mass Effect clone, and the team has been clear about what sets it apart.

The Time Dilation Mechanic

The defining twist in Exodus is time dilation. The player character, known as the Traveler (Jun Aslan), travels across the galaxy at near-relativistic speeds, which means they age far more slowly than the people left behind. Every time you complete a mission and return, decades may have passed for your companions and allies. Relationships evolve, people age and change, and the consequences of your choices ripple across generations. It essentially “supersizes all of the choices you make” according to the developers — turning every decision into something that carries genuine long-term weight. That’s a completely different beast from anything Mass Effect did with its structure.

The World and Story

Set 40,000 years in the future, humanity abandoned an uninhabitable Earth and found refuge in the Centauri system, but their colony ships staggered in their arrival. Players who come in later, like Jun, are greeted by civilizations that have evolved over millennia into entirely different humanoids alongside what the team calls “Awakened animals.” You’re exploring extraordinary worlds and fighting for humanity’s survival against entities called the Celestials, all while confronting the personal cost of what time dilation does to your relationships.

The game features a reputation system driven by gameplay choices, upgrades, and interactions — and morally ambiguous decisions that won’t make everyone happy are baked into the DNA of the experience, which is exactly what you’d expect from the people who wrote the original Mass Effect trilogy.

What We’ve Seen of Gameplay So Far

Archetype has been drip-feeding short gameplay clips ahead of a longer extended showcase coming this summer. What’s been shown so far includes:

• Cover-based squad combat with protagonist Jun fighting alongside companions Tom and Elise, where positioning and companion co-operation genuinely matter.
• Traversal mechanics built around a railclaw grappling device and special ‘shaper’ abilities that let you demolish walls and create bridges out of thin air.
• A real-time conversation system where dialogue options branch naturally during missions — the team’s goal is to make “every exchange feel immediate” without pulling you out of the world into a separate dialogue interface.
• Large open environments on planets like Lidon, featuring multiple routes rather than a strict open world — the game opens up to solar system exploration as you progress.

The game also stars Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey in his video game debut, playing a character called C.C. Orlev. McConaughey himself appeared at The Game Awards 2023 when Exodus was first revealed, and the team has confirmed his involvement is authentic — not just a quick voice cameo but a real performance woven into the game’s story.

The extended summer gameplay showcase will feature continuous moment-to-moment footage including combat, conversations, and in-mission choices, followed by deep dives on companions and romance, the RPG hub area Persepolis, and the full Time Dilation mechanics. Exodus is built in Unreal Engine 5 and is targeting an early 2027 release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Hasbro’s Billion-Dollar Bet on Video Games

Exodus doesn’t exist in a vacuum — it’s part of a much larger strategic push by Hasbro to build a real video game division. The company is investing heavily across multiple studios, with Archetype handling the sci-fi RPG space and another studio called Invoke developing a D&D action game called Warlock. This is Hasbro treating games as a genuine core business, not just a licensing side hustle.

The risk Cocks acknowledges is real. Launching a brand-new IP in a genre that hasn’t produced a mainstream hit in years, from a studio releasing its first ever game, is genuinely bold. But the team’s track record — the people who made Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Baldur’s Gate — gives this bet more credibility than most first-time studios could offer. And fan response to the gameplay clips shared so far has been strong enough that Cocks openly cited it as a positive signal.

Speaking of gaming companies making bold bets right now, if you haven’t read about the messy situation Sony finds itself in with the PS5 price hikes, the PS5 tariff lawsuit story is a wild one that shows just how complicated the console business has become in 2026.

Exodus Isn’t the Only One Coming

Here’s something that makes the sci-fi RPG situation even more interesting heading into 2027: Exodus isn’t alone. Another Mass Effect-style game is also in development, and it’s coming from a studio with a very strong track record of its own.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn

Owlcat Games — the developer behind Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader — is building a full third-person action RPG set in The Expanse universe. Titled The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, it’s also targeting a Spring 2027 release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

The setup: you play as a Pinkwater Security mercenary who survives the catastrophic events on Eros Station — set during the timeframe of the first two Expanse books and seasons one through three of the TV series. From there, you’re on the run on an enemy’s experimental spaceship, building a crew and finding your path through a solar system on the brink of collapse between Earth, Mars, and the Belt.

The gameplay features cover-based combat with two active companions, an Exploit system that lets your squad wipe out entire groups of enemies in one move, zero-gravity combat encounters with enemies clinging to different surfaces, and dialogue choices that shape the narrative in true Owlcat fashion. Their signature technology that tracks every player decision and narrative state is fully present here, just like in Rogue Trader.

The game also features solar system exploration — after a linear opening few hours, players can freely choose destinations including Ganymede, Ceres, Mars, and Luna. A closed beta launched on April 22, 2026 for those who pre-purchased the Collector’s Edition or Miller’s Pack, and Owlcat has confirmed that player feedback from the beta will be incorporated into the final release.

Early impressions from the beta have been genuinely positive, with players and critics alike noting the Mass Effect-like dialogue overlay combined with Owlcat’s trademark lore density and world-building. The Expanse franchise has always had incredible hard sci-fi bones — Owlcat building a full RPG on top of that foundation is an exciting prospect.

Is the Sci-Fi RPG Drought Really That Bad?

To be fair to the genre, it’s worth asking whether Cocks’ claim holds up under scrutiny. Has nothing good really come out in this space in years?

The honest answer is: kind of, yes. Starfield launched in 2023 to mixed reception — massive in scope but criticized for feeling hollow in ways that Mass Effect never did. The original trilogy’s combination of deeply written companions, cinematic storytelling, moment-to-moment dialogue that felt personal, and a galaxy that felt lived-in has never really been matched. BioWare has been working on a new Mass Effect game, but that’s been in development purgatory for years with no confirmed timeline. Andromeda’s reception effectively put the franchise in cold storage, and nothing has convincingly filled the gap since Mass Effect 3 in 2012.

What Cocks is really pointing at isn’t a complete absence of sci-fi games — it’s a specific kind of sci-fi RPG. Narrative-driven, companion-heavy, choice-laden, with that particular blend of epic scale and personal story that made the original trilogy so beloved. That specific formula has been genuinely absent from the market for a long time, and that’s the space Exodus is aiming directly at.

Nintendo also seems to understand the value of showing up for their fans during important windows — something Hasbro could learn a bit from. If you want context on how Nintendo is approaching the second half of 2026, check out our full breakdown of their Gamescom 2026 plans.

So Will 2027 Finally End the Drought?

Two Mass Effect-style sci-fi RPGs, both launching in 2027, both from studios with serious pedigree and clearly distinct identities. That’s a better position than this genre has been in for a very long time. Whether both land or one overshadows the other, the fact that the conversation is even happening signals that the market for this type of game is real, hungry, and ready to be served.

Cocks put real money behind a real bet. The people making Exodus wrote the games that defined the genre. Owlcat has never made a bad game. And the fan response to even the brief footage shown so far has been loud and enthusiastic.

The extended Exodus gameplay showcase is scheduled for after the Future Games Show on June 6, 2026. If you’re a Mass Effect fan who has been waiting for something to fill that void, that’s going to be a stream worth watching. And if Exodus delivers on even half of what its pedigree promises, Chris Cocks’ bold claim might end up looking like a perfectly calibrated understatement.

Stay tuned — the sci-fi RPG comeback might genuinely be on its way. In the meantime, if you’re a Pokemon GO player looking to stay active while you wait for 2027, the current Team Leader quests running through mid-June are worth jumping into.