Mass Effect Legendary Edition is shaping up to be the definitive version of BioWare’s iconic sci-fi trilogy. However, it seems like fans of Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer will not be getting the same love, as BioWare explains why it will not be included in Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
Fans speculated that Mass Effect Legendary Edition would not include Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer content after the game was revealed, as BioWare made no mention of the cult classic co-op mode. Despite this lack of acknowledgement, some fans of the wave-based survival mode held onto the hope that Mass Effect: Legendary Edition would still include the feature. However, in a new interview with Game Informer, BioWare developers confirmed that multiplayer would not be included in the remaster.
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According to environment and character director Kevin Meek and project director Mac Walters, multiplayer was simply too complicated for the team to bring back. Walters and Meek compared the process of bringing back Mass Effect 3 multiplayer to restoring an old car that was “actually buried in concrete.” With BioWare constantly worrying if it would be able to get the feature to work at all, and if it was even worth the time, a remaster of the multiplayer was scrapped — meaning that the Mass Effect remasters will be entirely single-player.
In the interview, Meek and Walters explain that they believe BioWare has “chosen the things that are what the majority of the fans were most passionate about.” Highlighting that the project would have suffered time-wise if multiplayer was included, and resources that could have been used to improve the single-player content of Mass Effect would have needed to be spent, the decision is understandable. With questions like cross-play and post-launch support also supposedly coming up, BioWare decided that it was simply not worth the effort.
Aside from multiplayer possibly being a huge road bump for the Mass Effect Legendary Edition team, another issue is that not everyone enjoyed the feature. Players who love Mass Effect purely for the single-player experience make up most of the franchise’s fan base, and a controversial decision saw Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer having an impact on the single-player story’s ending. However, with no multiplayer included, the frustrating impact of online play on Effective Military Strength will not be seen — something that could actually make the lack of multiplayer a positive bit of news for some players.
It seems that fans of the series' multiplayer will need to continue playing Mass Effect Andromeda’s online modes. While wielding bionic powers and iconic Mass Effect weaponry with friends would have been fun to do again, it makes sense that BioWare would prioritize making the single-player games as great as they can possibly be.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition launches May 14 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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Source: Game Informer