Since EA Play 2020’s events, I’ve been avidly wondering where this mysterious, heavily-rumoured Mass Effect remaster is, and when will we actually see an official reveal? I know for a fact; the majority of the BioWare community were at least expecting to see this title at EA Play given that EA still have one HD title to release this by their fourth fiscal quarter.
However, EA Play has come and gone, it’s already August, and there’s still not a peep on this trilogy remaster. While the remaster has been nothing but a rumour, there has been a few recent teases from BioWare themselves that point to the existence of this remaster, and potentially the release date.
So, without further ado, let’s get into it!
As I said, EA still have one more HD title to release according to their conference call in May. By the end of 2020/Q4 we’ll see “one more EA HD title, Four EA Partner titles and two mobiles games still unannounced”.
For the uninitiated, the terms “EA HD title” simply refers to a remaster of an EA game.
At EA Play, three of the four EA partner titles were announced, they were: “It Takes Two”, “Lost in Random”, and “Rocket Arena.” While I don't recall any mobile game announcements, this enigmatic EA HD title was missing from the entire show.
The only presence BioWare had at EA Play was the next Dragon Age game’s early in-engine footage reveal, which I’m still super pumped up about because we’ve actually seen next-gen in-game shots. And I broke that all down if you’re interested in a tinfoily analysis video on that.
Regardless, this EA HD title is still out there, unannounced, lurking in EA’s secret cupboard with an expected launch date of late 2020 to early 2021.
Is this EA HD title really the rumoured Mass Effect remaster you ask? While reporters at Venturebeat went on to officially state that this title was indeed the Mass Effect Trilogy, we’ve got a lot more than some venterbeat reporter’s word to go on. In fact, we’ve barely stoked the flames.
In May, BioWare hired their previous Global Brand Manager, Hilary Heskett. She was particularly involved in Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem & Dragon Age: Inquisition’s marketing stages. The majority of her work at EA involved representing BioWare as a brand online creating trailers, key art, screenshots, packaging, and advertisements.
We’ve got to ask ourselves, with BioWare currently at least 2-3 years away from releasing Anthem 2.0 and Dragon Age 4, what else could BioWare begin to market? Perhaps this Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster? I think so.
Moving on, before the outbreak cancelled E3 2020 outright, we knew Mike Gamble had plans to make a physical appearance at E3/EA Play. Mike Gamble is currently the Project Director for an unknown project at BioWare Edmonton, which is either the Mass Effect Remaster or next Mass Effect title. Perhaps both, given BioWare’s size?
While this announcement still hasn’t happened, one must ponder what exactly would the Mass Effect Project Lead actually announce at an event like E3/EA Play? I mean let's face it, I highly doubt Mike was teasing a reveal for the next Mass Effect game which is currently in very early stages of development, and won’t release until after Dragon Age 4.
As we know, Mike had plans for something, so surely those plans are still ongoing at BioWare?
Perhaps Mike back in 2019 was hinting at revealing the heavily rumoured Mass Effect Remaster, and with the current outbreak shaking things up, they’ve moved the announcement date of this remaster?
Perhaps this the reason why we haven’t seen this remaster yet, because BioWare would rather reveal the remaster on a more suited date, like N7 day 2020? It would certainly be the perfect day to announce any upcoming trilogy remasters.
So, perhaps we’ll have a trilogy remaster reveal on N7 day, and the game will ship following that reveal? I don’t know if BioWare would just shadow drop the game on the same day as its announcement, or if they’d just release a trailer with the game launching sometime after that?
While I would love to have the Mass Effect Trilogy remaster shadow-dropped on N7 day this year, we have more reasons to believe the game will launch early 2021, as recent teases are indicating that sort of release date.
Just last week, we had many Mass Effect-related announcements paving the way for this remaster, proving that something is going on with the Mass Effect Trilogy.
BioWare Gear Store:
A new BioWare Gear store opened on July 20th after the closure of the previous BioWare merch store in 2018.
This new store features over a dozen Mass Effect merchandise, however, you’ll note there’s no Andromeda merch, it's all just trilogy related. Which is rather interesting.... BioWare are certainly acknowledging the trilogy more than Andromeda. There’s also more Anthem merch than Dragon Age merch, which also speaks on the release on Anthem 2.0 before Dragon Age 4.
This shop is helmed at hyping up a certain franchise one at a time with its appropriate merch, and at the moment, Mass Effect Trilogy merch is at the front and centre of the store’s listings, which speaks for itself. BioWare are getting ready to sell a bunch of N7 shirts, surely for this remaster’s launch.
Mass Effect: The Complete Comics:
The next trilogy tease regards a new listing on Amazon, as Mass Effect: The Complete Comics is releasing on November 3rd, 2020, just before N7 day.
The book collects: Mass Effect: Redemption #1-4, Mass Effect: Evolution #1-4, Mass Effect: Invasion #1-4, Mass Effect: Homeworlds #1-4, Mass Effect: Foundation #1-13, and Mass Effect: Discovery #1-4.
The first 5 comic books all relate to the Mass Effect Trilogy with spin-off stories regarding our favourite characters. While Mass Effect: Discovery is the only Andromeda related-comic that tells the story of the (subjectively) best character in the game, Tiran Kandros.
These comics will surely draw us all back into the trilogy’s sub-plots and characters, hopefully, setting the scene for the remaster’s announcement on N7 day.
The Art of the Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition:
And last, but certainly not least – BioWare are realising a new never-before seen art book of the Mass Effect Trilogy releasing February 23rd, 2021.
“Expanded with never before seen works of art, this new edition delves deeper than ever into the sci-fi saga that changed video games forever.”
“Contains 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-favorite "Citadel" from Mass Effect 3.”
As an OG fan boy of the original trilogy, this is incredibly exciting to see. I believe this art book is a huge indicator towards the release date of this remaster. The art book ships on March 23, 2021, perhaps the remaster is arriving around this date?
That would mean an official announcement reveal trailer on N7 day with the release date around March at the very latest.
As an avid participant of N7 day, without a doubt, something is going down this year. Throughout the past 3 years since Andromeda shipped, BioWare haven’t really celebrated N7 day like they used to.
But this year feels different, with so much of BioWare’s focus on the Mass Effect Trilogy, it certainly seems that this rumoured remaster is no doubt happening, and will be revealed on N7 day. I mean what else could this EA HD title be, and why haven’t we seen it just yet? What other franchise are EA holding back for a Q4 release? I truly believe it’s the Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster.
And honestly, I’m super excited to return to the Milky Way with improved graphics and whatever else they decide to change. Tell me your thoughts down below, what do you think about this EA HD title, and are you excited for N7 day?