For months now, there have been rumors of an upcoming collection that sees remasters of the Mass Effect trilogy, BioWare’s massive and acclaimed RPG series from last gen. Several retailer listings have been popping up recently, giving hope that the fabled remaster could be coming by year’s end. Alas, if new rumors are to be believed, it is not to be.

As reported by Jeff Grubb at VentureBeat, the collection has been delayed until sometime next year. The main reason behind it is due to the team wanting to do more work on the first game. If you aren’t too familiar with the series, the first game is quite different to its sequels mechanically, and Grubb says they don’t want people to be disappointed in the collection as a whole based on the impression of that first game. He claims its an issue with both the graphics and the gameplay, seeming to imply they might do some rehauling to the latter. He also mentions that one aspect that will be dropped from the trilogy completely is the multiplayer aspect that came with Mass Effect 3.

Grubb has been the primary source of the Mass Effect rumor, even saying that its title will be the Legendary Edition, so as with all of these rumors, take it as it is. Fans have been waiting quite some time to revisit those classic titles, so they will have to wait just a tad longer if all is to be believed.

There were a lot of great franchises that began in the last generation of consoles that defined the era. Some made it successfully over to the current systems, and some didn’t. One of the series in the latter part is Mass Effect. The sci-fi epic from BioWare was a favorite of many, but the follow up in this generation of consoles was lackluster. Since then, the franchise has been silent, though there’s rumors flying around that a remastered version of the trilogy is coming by year’s end. At this point, it’s hard to say one way or another, but a lot of interesting things happening in the UK retailer scene could point to it being legit.

Apparently, some fans noticed in the list of upcoming games from UK retailer GAME of a game called N7 was listed as coming out September 27th. N7 is a significant moniker for Mass Effect. Not only that, they apparently were allowed to put a deposit down, which you can see below. As also detailed, as of today, the date on this deposit has been changed to October 30th. You can see the whole saga chronicled by Reddit user Waymantis through here.

Does it really mean anything? It’s hard to say. Things like this do happen and ultimately these listings are taken down. But if the game is really still planned to come out this year as some rumors suggest, it would be likely to be revealed soon. Though, other rumors say it could be up to the end of the next fiscal year (March 31st, 2021) before we actually see it. Either way, fingers crossed that this is a sign that something is happening soon.

The Art of Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition has been recently listed on Amazon with BioWare as the author. It’s out on March 23rd 2021 but the timing is quite interesting. With rumors running wild about the Mass Effect Trilogy remaster, the art book could possibly be launching alongside it.

Checking out the description for the listing, it promises “hundreds of never before seen works of art” along with “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.” There’s also commentary to go with the concept art as this promises to be “the ultimate companion to one of the greatest series in the history of gaming!”

Back in May, VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb reported that one of EA’s unannounced titles is a remaster of the original Mass Effect trilogy. This was further corroborated by sources speaking to Gamereactor that indicate it will release this year. With no mention at EA Play Live 2020, an announcement at Gamescom wouldn’t be too far-fetched (especially since the publisher will have a digital presence during the event).

In the meantime, The Art of Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition is available to pre-order. Stay tuned for more details on the remastered trilogy in the coming months.

EA have mentioned a couple of times that they plan on releasing remasters of fan-favourite games in the coming months, and since they did that, rumours of the Mass Effect trilogy coming back have gone into hyperdrive. And though reports suggest that the Mass Effect Trilogy remaster will be releasing later this year, it seems an official announcement from EA might take a little longer than you’d expect.

Over on Twitter, GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb – who’s been on the frontlines of Mass Effect remaster leaks for a while now – says that the trilogy isn’t likely to be announced at EA’s upcoming EA Play event. He says that though the remaster is definitely coming, there’s a “strong possibility” that it won’t be announced at the show next week. Of course, the wording of that tweet suggests that there is a chance that it does get announced, but it’d be best keep your hopes in check. Grubb has been a reliable source of information, after all.

EA Play will be streamed on June 18. Star Wars: Squadrons was recently announced, and though an official reveal for that is coming on Monday, we can probably expect to hear more about the game at EA Play. The next Need for Speed – developed by Criterion – will also be revealed, while we can also expect to hear about the likes of Madden NFL 21 and FIFA 21.

While we're all happy about Star Wars: Squadrons (and since it's a Friday — let's take out the trash).

I think there's a strong likelihood that EA will not announce Mass Effect Trilogy remaster at EA Play. It's coming — but it just might not take a slot at this event.

— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) June 12, 2020

During the last generation of consoles, there was one defining RPG trilogy that everyone had their eyes on in one way or another: Mass Effect. Despite a very controversial ending, the series was mostly well-loved. This gen the series only had one entry, Mass Effect Andromeda, which performed below expectations. Between that and the fact the publisher EA has largely stayed away from remasters this gen, the series has remained dormant. But is the time of revival upon us?

According the Editor at Gamereactor, he has information that the much wanted Mass Effect Trilogy remaster is indeed real, and apparently EA has ambitious plans for it. He says that it will release this fall, and not only that, it will be their blockbuster winter title in place of previous titles in lieu of the lack of a Battlefield or Star Wars game.

As always with these rumors, take it with a grain of salt, but it does line up with other rumors that EA is planning to release the remaster by at least March 31st of next year, and as of now, there is no big holiday title known to be in the pipeline from the company. EA Play Live 2020 is coming up on June 18th, so if this is real, it’s very likely to be revealed there.

The Mass Effect series has always had a place in the hearts of a lot of players. The original game surprised many when it came onto the scene on the Xbox 360, and it snowballed into a trilogy with each entry getting bigger and bigger in its scope. How it ended is…well, let’s not get into all that and remember the good times. The series has been MIA for several years now, with rumors always flying that the series is prompt for a return. Well, it’s time to put another rumor out there. Though, this time, it’s more about returning to the past.

EA outlined their game line up until the end of the fiscal year, that will conclude March 31st of 2021 (you can read more about that through here). There were a lot of unannounced titles on that list, and Jeff Grubb of VentureBeat claims that one of those unannounced titles is in fact the much requested Mass Effect Trilogy remaster. He offers no time frame or platforms, only not to expect the game to come to the Switch “at first.” So much for that whole multiple games thing, I guess.

While Grubb has generally been a reliable source in the past, this is, of course, rumor until something official is announced. EA has largely skipped over doing remasters this gen, but has expressed interest in revisiting some of their IPs. The timetable we’re working with here runs to March 31st of next year, so odds are we will find out about this by 2020’s end if true. EA will host their own digital event on June 11th, so it’s very possible it could be revealed there.

Bioware have made it very clear, categorically, explicitly, and in no uncertain terms, that the next time they are going to show off Mass Effect Andromeda on November 7– but it seems like there may have been some change of plans, because Bioware are now hinting that the game may be at the PlayStation Meeting, the event Sony is holding to debut the PS4 NEO and the PS4 Slim later today.

Bioware’s Michael Gamble, producer for Mass Effect Andromeda, as well as Ian S Frazier, are hinting at something related to Mass Effect happening at the PlayStation Meeting- and while my first assumption and hope is that they will show off Andromeda (at long last) at the event, it is also entirely possible that they end up showing off something like the long rumored Mass Effect Trilogy at the event, too (though in the context of it being the unveiling of a more powerful PS4, a Trilogy remaster certainly makes far less sense than Andromeda does).

The PlayStation Meeting will be later today, and it will be broadcast live. Mass Effect Andromeda is slated to launch by March 2017 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

It’s been mentioned before and while EA Studios boss Patrick Soderlund teased Electronic Arts possibly remastering the original Mass Effect trilogy, there are plenty of reasons why it hasn’t happened yet. CCO Peter Moore told IGN that while it could stand to make easy money from the remasters, it’s focused on Mass Effect Andromeda. Also, the company is more concerned with delivering new experiences rather than revisiting the past.

“We’re a company that is focused on delivering for the future. I was asked a question once [about remasters and I said] it’s just not what we do. We’ve got incredibly talented dev studios around the world who are focused on delivering new IP, new experiences, [and] more and more live services.

“Can we make an easy buck on remastering Mass Effect? Yes. Have a thousand people asked me that? Yes, they have. We just feel like we want to go forward. There’s a little thing called Mass Effect: Andromeda that we’re totally focused on at BioWare and it’s gonna be magnificent.”

Speaking more about the Andromeda focus, Moore confessed that it doesn’t have teams lying around to just assign to remastering older titles. “Do we have teams lying around that are doing nothing right now that [can go and make remasters]? No we don’t. We want to focus on the future and delivering new IP and new experiences. There’s easy money to be made all over this industry. But the real focus should be on being player-first and focused on delivering new IP and new experiences and that’s where our real focus is.”

“Is there demand? Yes, there’s thousands of people who want it. Do we need millions? I don’t know. Our blinders are on and [we are] looking toward future.”

Moore is also aware about the demand for sequels like Skate 4 to emerge, making remasters an even harder choice. “We’re a 34-year-old company that has thousands of pieces of IP around the world. Road Rash! If you allow yourself to take the easy road – not to diss remastering great franchises, but there are so many opportunities for us to have people go to something else.”

Still, never say never. Mass Effect Andromeda is currently scheduled for an early 2017 release.

Bioware may have internally discussed the idea of bringing the Mass Effect Trilogy to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – which would include all three games and their respective downloadable content – but it wasn’t confirmed whether it would be happen or not. According to Chilean retailer Zmart, the trilogy will indeed be out on PS4 and Xbox One, complete with box art for the same. Don’t take this as official confirmation though – we’ll need to wait for Bioware or EA for the same.

Bioware is also busy developing the fourth game in the series, tentatively titled Mass Effect 4. It will reportedly be different from the original trilogy but still maintain the same tone. It’s the first game to be developed using Frostbite 3 and will most likely head to PS4, Xbox One and PC only. We also know that Commander Shepard won’t be returning this time around.

We’ll find out more information in the coming months as E3 2014 is around the corner. Stay tuned for more details and let us know whether you’d pick up Mass Effect Trilogy for PS4 and Xbox One.

Though it hasn’t been officially confirmed or planned, Bioware is internally discussing whether to release all three Mass Effect games to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in the future.

Answering a question about the same on Twitter, BioWare Edmonton & Montreal studios general manager Aaryn Flynn stated that, “We have discussed that internally. If we can put solid plans together we’ll share. Great to hear you’re keen.”

Would it include a 1080p resolution and 60 FPS frame rate like so many other HD remakes we’ve seen thus far? Mass Effect Trilogy as such release in late 2012 for XBox 360, PS3 and PC. It includes most of the DLC for both games.

We know that Bioware is very busy with Mass Effect 4, which will use Frostbite 3 and release on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The game will not feature Shepard and could diverge quite heavily from previous games, despite having the same tone. Stay tuned for more details.