As expected, it's a very big N7 Day, as Electronic Arts and BioWare have confirmed that a Mass Effect trilogy remaster, called Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, is in the works.
The new versions will not be full remakes: BioWare said it aims to "modernize the experience so that fans and new players can experience the original work in its best possible form."
"As game developers, we always hope that our games will transcend their original platforms. Having the opportunity to remaster the trilogy means that the fruits of a decade of our work will live on, and will be experienced better and clearer than ever before," BioWare GM Casey Hudson wrote.
"Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will include single-player base content and DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3, plus promo weapons, armors, and packs—all remastered and optimized for 4k Ultra HD."
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is expected to be out in spring 2021. More information will be revealed next year.
BioWare also said that a new Mass Effect is in development, but had no specifics to share.
Your choices. Your squad. Your Shepard. Relive the legend in a remastered edition of the highly acclaimed trilogy. Mass Effect Legendary Edition arrives Spring 2021.https://t.co/jLUj8FUGaI pic.twitter.com/vxTKyq4LQ1November 7, 2020
The remaster news is no surprise. The rumor machine began turning in May, when Electronic Arts said that it would release, among other things, "an additional EA HD title" sometime prior to the end of March 2021, which VentureBeat reported would be the Mass Effect Trilogy. The claim was unverified, but the site was confident enough to state it as a fact.
Then in October, a rating for something called the Mass Effect Legendary Edition popped up on South Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee. That was followed earlier this week by tweets from Commander Shepard voice actors Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, who said that a big reunion of Mass Effect voice actors—all from the original trilogy—would take place on November 7, for "a very special panel" to celebrate N7 Day.
And then during this week's Q2 2021 financial report, Electronic Arts reaffirmed its plan to "announce the launch dates of additional FY21 title releases, including an EA Originals title and a remastered title."
If you want to see the cast reunion, it starts at 11 am Pacific below:
Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale, who played femshep, 'saw no line' before she recorded them for Bioware's flagship trilogy: 'It was all cold reading on the spot'
BioWare veteran calls out the 'cruelty' of fans celebrating layoffs: 'You are crossing a line, and you're probably attacking the wrong person anyway'
