Polygon’s editor thinks they can finish Mass Effect for $5 million, because that is what salaries would cost for 50 people at $50k per year for 2 years. First of all, the team would have to scale up considerably to build a game of this scale — the credits for “Dragon Age: The Veilguard” has 3,671 people listed. Second, most of these people make a lot more than $50k per year. Third, this game was a lot more than two years from shipping. Fourth, even if you imagine a “Mass Effect” game can be made by 50 people who all make less than an assistant manager at a Chipotle, the $5 million covers salaries, but not benefits, payroll taxes, office space, equipment or any of the other costs associated with running a company. The cost of finishing the “Mass Effect” game is in the neighborhood of $200 million. If they could finish it for $5 million, they would have done it.