It was announced a little while back that EA won’t be supporting Steam with Mass Effect 3, and that it will be released only on their portal — Origin. BioWare has now announced that Mass Effect 3 will also have DRM. Hold your horses, though, there’s no need to worry. You don’t have to be online all the time, to play ME3 — it can be played offline. It’s “not intrusive”, according to BioWare.
“We use Origin, and it’s interesting because really, it’s just a way to get access to the online and digital features that, you know, generally, PC games have now,” executive producer Casey Hudson said while talking to CVG. “I think people are going to be fine with it.”
“I think that the people who try Mass Effect 3 on Origin will realise that it’s not an intrusive DRM scheme,” he continued. “It’s just a way for you to sign up for the online services that you’re going to get on an ongoing basis through Mass Effect 3.
“Just like you get with any other kind of online digital distribution, or multiplayer or whatever. It’s not something that requires you to always be online – you can play Mass Effect 3 offline.”
He also revealed that ME3’s single player campaign will require a single authorisation (just once) and will have no limit on number of installs.
Mass Effect 3 releases on March 6 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Stay tuned for more info.