It’s been five years since BioWare first announced it was working on a brand new Mass Effect game. But today, November 7th (N7 Day), BioWare shared a promising sign of life: the BioWare team is “heads-down and focused exclusively” on the game, according to its executive producer.

“We have a lot of universe to cover, lots of features to build, and lots of romances to figure out.” Mike Gamble says. “We’re excited by what we’re building, and we promise you: when we’re ready, it’ll be a lot of fun to show.” Gamble also addresses “the rumors lately,” perhaps referencing concerns about the series’s future if the deal to take EA private goes through. “You’ve made it clear you care deeply about what’s next. So let’s start by setting the record straight: the next Mass Effect game is in development, and EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe.

The blog post has some info about the upcoming Mass Effect TV series BioWare is working on with Amazon, too. “The writers room is going strong, and we’ve got a lot figured out about how it fits within the Mass Effect canon, and where it sits in respect to the new game,” Gamble says. “The show will explore a brand-new story within the universe’s timeline, and will be set after the original trilogy. It won’t be a retread of Commander Shepard’s story – because after all … that’s YOUR story, isn’t it?”

Gamble’s post also has a bunch of mysteriously italicized letters, and internet sleuths have found a page on the Mass Effect website with a “Civil War” image featuring the Krogan species from the games:

I’m not entirely sure what this image might mean, but as someone who finally finished the original trilogy last year thanks to the Legendary Edition, I’m looking forward to what’s next for the series all the same. Fingers crossed we don’t have to wait until next year’s N7 Day to hear more about the next game.

Update, November 7th: Added details about a newly-discovered image.