Mass Effect: Legendary Edition recently went gold, which means the game’s development is over and BioWare can now move on to distribution. The announcement comes from project director Mac Walters, who celebrated the news on his personal Twitter account with a video of Mass Effect’s characters dancing.
Getting to gold is a big milestone in video game development, because after this stage, players can be almost certain the game won’t be delayed. Mass production of physical copies is one of the easiest parts to get right on schedule, and even if physical distribution becomes compromised, digital copies can still be downloaded by players if the game is ready to be played. Production of games usually suffer from constant delays, such as recently happened with Gotham Knights and Back 4 Blood. Knowing Mass Effect: Legendary Edition hit gold, then, gives the player something to expect they know that will be delivered on May 14th.
The three original Mass Effect games will be part of the Legendary Edition, which features not only enhanced graphics but several quality-of-life upgrades to make the experience of playing the trilogy more cohesive and immersive. This is particularly relevant in a franchise such as Mass Effect, since all three games share some saving features, allowing players to carry over decisions from one game to another. One of the most relevant changes in the Legendary edition concerns the multiple endings of Mass Effect 3, the final chapter of Commander Shepard’s trilogy, that will take into account all the things you didn’t do should you skip the first two games, unifying all three games into a unique and definitive story.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB and is available now for pre-order on PC via Origin and Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with forward compatibility on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game will be available this May 14th.