The Mass Effect Remastered Trilogyis looking more likely than ever before. With rumors circulating that the remaster could be announced by BioWare on N7 Day 2020 or even sooner in October,Mass Effectfans are more excited than ever to return to their favorite stores on the Citadel, especially after the disappointing release ofMass Effect: Andromeda.
However, afterAndromedaand the even more disappointing critical and commercial reception ofAnthem, BioWare has a lot riding on theMass Effect Remastered Trilogyin the eyes of many fans. If it turns out that EA’s planned “HD Title” is not in factMass Effect, BioWare could be in hot water right before the upcoming next generation of consoles and not due to any fault of its own, truth be told.
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The Mass Effect Remaster Rumors
The rumors of aMass Effect Remastered Trilogyhave been circulating for years. In 2014, the general manager of BioWare’s Edmonton and Montreal studios,Aaryn Flynn,posted on the NeoGaf forums to ask fans what they’d be interested in seeing in a remaster of the original trilogy.
Recent events, however, have led many fans to think that2020 could be theMass Effectremaster’s year. May 2020 saw EA announce 14 games planned to be released before the end of the fiscal year, including an “HD Title” than has yet to be announced that is rumored to be the remaster.
June 2020 saw the entire original trilogy released on Steam, while in July, publisher Dark Horse announced that it would be publishingThe Art of the Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Editionon June 20, 2025. All of this seems to point to aMass Effectremaster, at least in the eyes of many hopeful fans. However, it also raises the stakes significantly for BioWare.
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The Mass Effect Remaster Risk
BioWare has a few games confirmed to be in production right now, including anoverhaul ofAnthem,Dragon Age 4, andMass Effect 5. The latter is in a difficult position in the same way asAndromeda, trying to tell a new story while not stepping on the toes of the radically different implications of the three endings forMass Effect 3.Anthem’s poor initial release also means that an overhaul is far from a safe financial bet for the studio, which leaves a lot resting onDragon Age 4.
WhileDragon Age: Originswas extremely successful, the luke-warm reception ofDragon Age 2took part of the wind out of the franchise’s sails in a way that never happened forMass EffectuntilAndromeda. Indeed, many considerMass Effect 2to be the best game in the series, and the fact that theMass Effecttrilogy has one consistent protagonist has helped to make the series slightly more iconic than its fantasy counterpart.
As a result aMass Effect Remastered Trilogycould help BioWare restore confidence in both its fans and its investors during a particularly tumultuous time for a company that, at the start of the decade, was considered to be at the absolute top of the RPG industry. Fortunately, these are also all great arguments for theMass Effectremaster that could hopefully make it more likely than ever. Fans will be looking forward toN7 Day2020 in hopes of finally getting the confirmation many have long expected.
TheMass Effect Trilogy Remasteris reportedly in development.
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