When it was leaked yesterday that Mass Effect 3 would be receiving a DLC side mission titled From Ashes many fans were outraged. Of course that outrage had nothing to do with the existence of this DLC, but the fact that it was yet another loyalty mission that required jumping through a few hoops like the Zaeed mission in Mass Effect 2.

Even more shocking was the Xbox Live Arcade's brazen description of the DLC, which in itself was a huge spoiler for the game. We're not going to spoil that element here, mind you, but we are here to reveal that BioWare has confirmed From Ashes' existence and have given a release date.

As expected Mass Effect 3 — From Ashes is the same additional mission that owners of the N7 Collector's Edition of the game will be receiving. However, the DLC will be available at launch for all other Mass Effect 3 owners, for a small charge.

Unfortunately, BioWare didn't give a price for the From Ashes DLC, but promised that more details should hit this week, and as far as story details were concerned they weren't willing to comment.

Hi all!

We're happy to confirm that Mass Effect 3: From Ashes DLC will be available at launch for all platforms. For those of you who have purchased the N7 Collector's Edition (including the PC Digital Deluxe Edition), you will get this content at no extra charge. We'll have a lot more details for you later this week! Stay Tuned!

It was assumed, based on certain details that were revealed, that Mass Effect 3 would once again have Commander Shepard, be he OG Shep or Fem Shep, charting the stars to assemble a rag tag team of various races, but no one thought BioWare would lock out a teammate yet again. What makes it even worse is that the mission itself, and the squad mate that is being recruited, sound extremely awesome.

But this is Mass Effect 3 we're talking about after all, one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, which makes whether or not to pick up this DLC almost a forgone conclusion. It may a cheap move on EA or BioWare's part to lock something like this out of the main game, but the fans will go for it anyways.

Will you be picking up the From Ashes DLC alongside Mass Effect 3? Has BioWare taken the fan anticipation for the game and turned it into a profit motive?

Mass Effect 3 — From Ashes releases March 6, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Source: Kotaku