Rumours about the possibility of a Mass Effect Trilogy Remastered edition have been floating around for a long time. Now, it looks more likely than ever.
Somewhat unusually, that’s because of the presence of the pre-order of a book on Amazon entitled The Art of Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition. There isn’t a huge amount of information on the book but it explains that it’s “expanded with hundreds of never before seen works of art, this new edition delves deeper than ever into the sci-fi saga that changed video games forever.” That includes “extensive new material from the DLCs for all three games–including the award-winning “Lair of the Shadow Broker” from Mass Effect 2 and the fan-favourite “Citadel” from Mass Effect 3.”
It’s not out for release until 23rd March 2021 which is precisely why various sources think this may also be the release date for the remastered Mass Effect Trilogy. Could it be the case? That’s a little uncertain.
During a recent EA financial earnings report, the company did say that it planned to release an “EA HD title” this fiscal year, with the year ending on 31st March 2021. The term “EA HD title” suggests we might be dealing with a remaster as it’s not exactly the most descriptive of titles but, of course, we don’t know for sure. During the call, CEO Andrew Wilson dodged addressing the topic of remasters leaving us all curious.
On the other hand, GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb seemed fairly convinced that a remastered version of the Mass Effect trilogy is being worked on and he’s generally regarded as a reliable source of industry gossip.
So, what’s it going to be? It all seems a bit uncertain for now but the demand is certainly there. Also, EA’s forthcoming line up is a little weak and bare so a substantial remake or remaster could help a lot here. However, the book could be just that – a book that ‘expands’ on what we’ve previously seen of the trilogy rather than being part of a remaster campaign by EA.
Fingers crossed for a remaster. If nothing else, we might all learn to like Mass Effect 3’s ending a bit more second time around. Extended cut DLC or no extended cut DLC.