Mass Effect Andromeda, the next chapter in BioWare’s critically acclaimed science-fiction RPG series, will be released in Electronic Arts’ fiscal 2017, the publishing giant announced overnight.
That means the game could hit stores any time between April 2016 – March 31, 2017, although given that the game has been given a vague holiday 2016 release window, it probably won’t be out until later in the year. Nonetheless, it puts to bed fears that the game has been delayed.
In addition, EA also confirmed that a new Titanfall project will be released during the same time frame, although didn’t go into any details on the new game. However, the developer behind the franchise has previously said that it’s planning a Titanfall 2 and it will be a multiformat release.
Said EA: "In Q1, we’ll begin with the creative and innovative Mirror’s Edge Catalyst from DICE launching in May. A great line-up of EA Sports titles are in development for next year, and we look forward to sharing more about these new experiences in the months ahead. An all-new Battlefield game from DICE will arrive in time for the holidays, we’re excited to have a new Titanfall experience coming from our friends at Respawn – and of course, Mass Effect Andromeda from the team at BioWare will launch later in the fiscal year."
Mass Effect Andromeda is currently in development for the PS4, PC, and Xbox One. Much of the game has been kept under wraps, although various members of the development team have been teasing details on Twitter for the past 18 months or so now. Recently, one of the team revealed he had completed a run of the game’s first hour.
The game takes place in a separate universe to the original trilogy, and features the return of the Mako seen in the first Mass Effect, allowing players to explore a variety of uncharted planets. It’s also reported to include dynamic weather effects and will be the biggest and best title in the franchise to date.
Hopefully we’ll hear more on the game at E3 in June. Those of you holding out for a Mass Effect HD Trilogy had better not hold their breath; EA has indicated it has no plans to remaster Shepard’s adventure for PS4 and Xbox One anytime soon.