Mass Effect Legendary Edition Announcement Confirms Mass Effect 4

BioWare made a name for itself back in the days with D&D computer games and outliers like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. It stuck a gold mine, however, when it launched two original franchises, Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Since then, fans have been clamoring for sequels, especially after the somewhat lackluster Mass Effect Andromeda in 2017. That new installment has just been confirmed to be coming soon, but not before a remastered edition of the original trilogy comes next year.

Mass Effect has largely hailed for the depth of its stories and relationships, bringing BioWare's popular narrative-driven style to modern action RPG gameplay. Although not always regarded equally, the first three installments were pretty much regarded as the "canon" of the franchise. Mass Effect Andromeda, which significantly changed much of the gameplay, wasn't as warmly received in contrast.

It's no surprise then that, on N7 Day, BioWare announced a new Mass Effect Legendary Edition that covers only the trilogy. It's best not to get hopes up since the developer itself admits it isn't a remake or reimagining of the game. Instead, it's more about bringing the visuals to modern standards.

The Mass Effect Legendary Edition will include all single-player base content and DLCs from the first three games, along with promo weapons, armors, and packs. There is no specific date available yet beyond a 2021 launch window but the game will be available for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Details about forward compatibility and special enhancements for the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are promised to come later.

Mass Effect fans, however, might be more excited and, at the same time, apprehensive, about the confirmed next chapter in the series. It's still in the early stages, BioWare says, so it has nothing to share. Hopefully, however, they have learned their lessons from Andromeda not to make the same mistakes.