Few game developers keep their cards closer to their chest than BioWare, but they're not above dropping sneaky little hints at things to come in trailers and the like. In fact, there appears to be a little tidbit hidden in the most recent Mass Effect: Andromeda trailer that some folks believe reveals the name of the upcoming installment's protagonist, and it's a doozy.

First and foremost, it's important to note that we already know that the protagonist of the next Mass Effect is definitely not the Commander Shepard of previous games. Additionally, the name "Shepard" comes from Alan Shepard, the first American in space. That's why reddit user Benelioto's suggestion that the protagonist for Andromeda might be named a variation of "Rider" is so plausible.

The theory comes out of the first portion of actual game teaser in the recently released N7 Day trailer. At around 44 seconds in, it moves from archival footage of space events to new, Andromeda-specific footage. For the briefest of moments, there's a little dog tag visible in the bottom left—one that Benelioto believes to spell "Rider" or some variation thereof.

And guess what? The first American woman in space just so happens to have been someone named Sally Ride. If this theory pans out, it'd mean the protagonists in Mass Effect are named after both the first American man and woman in space. That seems like the kind of thing BioWare just might do. Perhaps even more telling is the fact that BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy seemed pretty sure that people would come to better understand the choice of the song "Ghost Riders in the Sky" for the Andromeda trailer released this past summer.

Given that Andromeda's currently slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, it may well be months before we get official confirmation. But given all the connections to how Shepard got named, as well as the music connection, this particular theory seems fairly likely. Like, at least 70-percent, which is far ahead of most fan theories.

Source: reddit

Via: IGN