Before-and-after shots of locations show off the Mass Effect trilogy upgrades in the Legendary Edition remaster. Remasters are a tricky business. It doesn’t matter if you’re Francis Ford Copolla re-cutting The Godfather

Whatever you think about how it ended, or about that ill-fated sequel trip to another galaxy, Commander Shepard’s trilogy is one of the most thrilling in video game history. The smoke and

To this day, the Mass Effect trilogy still sparks passionate discussions and heated debates, showcasing how beloved its characters and worlds still are. The sci-fi RPG's impact on gamers and the industry cannot be denied, especially in how it experimented with player choice and its place in an authored story. As Commander Shepard, we all created our own stories while also being treated to an intense narrative packed with touching and tragic moments spanning three games. Whether you worked to gain each character’s loyalty, created your own romantic love triangles, or used paragon and renegade interrupts to showcase your leadership style, you have your own Shepard tale to tell. BioWare truly achieved something wonderful by making people care deeply about Shepard’s fight to save the galaxy. 

After years of requests, BioWare is finally remastering the trilogy with Mass Effect Legendary Edition, giving fans the opportunity to re-experience Shepard’s story on modern hardware – while also allowing a new crop of gamers to discover what made the series the popular force it is today. For the latest issue of Game Informer, BioWare sat down with us to share how it approached bringing the series to 4K, and no topic was off the table. Find out why some things (like Mass Effect 3's multiplayer) ended up on the cutting-room floor, what swayed the team in the direction of a remaster versus a remake, and how the team approached Mass Effect 1. After all, the first entry needed (and received) the biggest upgrades – and yes, that includes the Mako. 

And that’s only scratching the surface on the behind-the-scenes details. The full cover story dives into BioWare's complicated creative process, detailing the big and promising changes in full. Since this is a trilogy, we have three different covers (pictured below) that pay homage to Shepard, all featuring different beloved squadmates who helped our hero along the way. 

Speaking of upcoming games we’re excited about, this issue is packed with them! We picked 50 games we can’t wait to play and shared what makes us enthusiastic about them. As part of this massive round-up, we have also extended looks at space-combat shooter Chorus and the wild co-op adventure It Takes Two, which comes from Josef Fares, who brought us Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and A Way Out. 

We also don’t hold back on examining some recent headlines, such as looking back at Cyberpunk 2077’s troubled launch and breaking down what Lucasfilm’s return to gaming really means. And if you’re a Yakuza fan, you’ll be happy to know associate editor Blake Hester sat down with series mastermind Toshihiro Nagoshi to discuss his life, career, and why Sega should have fired him in the ‘90s. Yes, this issue is quite a read, and that’s not even everything, so look forward to more opinions, reviews, and other surprises when you open it. 

Print subscribers can expect their issues to begin arriving in the coming days/weeks. The digital edition of this issue launches in a few hours for PC/Mac, iOS, and Google Play. You can also get the latest issue through third-party apps on Nook and Kindle. To subscribe to either the digital or print version, click here.

A new month means a new batch of games coming to Xbox Game Pass. Beginning this week, subscribers can look forward to playing a JRPG classic, engage in some social deception, or play as a mouse across console, PC, and Android via cloud gaming. You can also check out January's Game Pass additions here.

What's Coming

• Ghost of a Tale (PC) - Feb. 4
• Project Winter (Console, PC, Android) - Feb. 4
• The Falconeer (Console, PC, Android) - Feb. 4
• Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (Console, PC) - Feb. 11 (our review)
• Jurassic World Evolution (Console, Android) - Feb. 11 (our review)
• Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones (Console, Android) - Feb. 11
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Android) - Feb. 11 (our review)

What's Leaving

• De Blob (Console) - Feb. 15
• Ninja Gaiden II (Console) - Feb. 15
• World of Horror (PC) - Feb. 15
• Shadows of the Damned (EA Play/Console) - Feb. 16

DLC Updates

• The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood – members can pre-order now and save 10%
• Sea of Thieves: Season One Update – available now
• The Falconeer: The Hunter DLC – February 4

Microsoft also announced the following cloud games now have touch controls on Android:

• Donut County
• Enter The Gungeon
• Fractured Minds
• Monster Sanctuary
• River City Girls
• The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics
• The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Episode 1
• The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries
• The Walking Dead: Season Two
• The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season
• Touhou Luna Nights
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• Yes, Your Grace

As always, these games are yours to keep so long as you maintain an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. If you missed the free slate of games available for Xbox Live Gold members this month, you can check out that list here. Finally, if you missed the recent drama surrounding Gold, Microsoft recently came under fire for hiking up the subscription price of Xbox Live Gold before the uproar forced them to reverse that decision only hours later. What do you think of this month's Game Pass offerings? Share your thoughts in the comments!