Mass Effect 3 looks set to include four-player online cooperative play with “competitive elements,” reports Eurogamer.
According to a source close to the site, co-op functionality will be “standalone” and not linked to the RPG sequel’s single-player campaign, being more similar to a Horde-style offering.
In addition, another source informed the site that developer BioWare Montreal was beavering away on “a multiplayer Mass Effect experience,” either as a standalone product or as part of the overall Mass Effect 3 package.
BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka was recently quizzed at E3 on whether the hotly-anticipated sci-fi outing would support co-op, to which he replied, “We haven’t talked at all about multiplayer in the Mass Effect franchise, but we’re exploring multiplayer in all of our games and all of our franchises.”
“It’s always an idea we’re interested in,” added Muzyka. “The short answer is we have no comment on that. But we’re interested in the idea of multiplayer.”
Mass Effect 3 is due out on PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 on March 6, 2012.