BioWare gives into fan pressure, announces Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut

Mass Effect 3 was one of the biggest hyped releases of recent gaming history, but when it finally dropped some fans were… disappointed in the ending.

For those unfamiliar, the Mass Effect series is a massive RPG that relies heavily on the idea of player choice. Everything you do in the game has a particular consequence that builds a unique experience for each player. Whats more, characters created for the first game could be carried over to the sequels, creating one long cohesive narrative. This meant that decisions made in the original Mass Effect would be reflected in the second and third. So when the conclusion to the trilogy was finally due to come out, fans were expecting an epic finale for their own personal Commander Shepard. Instead what they got were three nearly identical endings, thus completely invalidating the idea that their actions were making any kind of difference.

There was a massive outcry over the ending and fan[boy]s were livid. There were a number of online petitions to change the ending and one guy even wanted to sue BioWare over it. Shortly thereafter, BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka promised additional content was on it’s way, “providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey.”

Today that’s been made official by the announcement of Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a content pack that will add “additional cinematic and epilogue scenes.”

“We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player,” said Executive Produce Corey Hudson.

In a surprising move from EA, this downloadable content will be free of charge (at least until 2014) and is scheduled to release this summer.

Source: EA