Well, that didn't take long. Only a few days after Mass Effect 3 was first revealed at the Spike Video Game Awards with a holiday 2011 release date, the official launch day seems to have been confirmed. BioWare had previously given some good news to PS3 owners when they announced that they wouldn't have to wait an extra year the third time around. Now calendars can be marked, as GameStop has apparently revealed that Mass Effect 3 will be released on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on November 8, 2011.
The news will come as somewhat of a relief to the millions of fans who were caught off guard by the game's first teaser - or its creative remix - with a holiday release being even sooner than many may have expected.
GameStop lists the game as releasing across all platforms in November, which gives PS3 owners ten months to finish Mass Effect 2, being released on the system in January. Not to worry Xbox fans, that's still more than enough time to give the game another playthrough. But ask yourself, would you play the game differently now that you know BioWare is watching?
At this point it can't be guaranteed that the street date listed is accurate, but GameStop did correctly reveal the launch dates of both Assassin's Creed 2 and Left 4 Dead 2. The company recently entered into a new partnership with IGN, so it's reasonable to think that the group now has twice the industry information to go on.
It's easy to understand that with a franchise this large, it might be difficult to keep details about development under wraps. First the game was accidentally revealed by EA before it was officially announced at the VGAs, and now the release date seems to have already been worked out by a distributor. Whether the conspiracy theorists are right, or if it's just hard to keep big secrets for long, we'll know soon enough if the date is for real.
As of now, PS3 fans look to have a new game to pick up in November of next year, provided they like what they see when Mass Effect 2 is released on the console in January - along with some extra content. BioWare is doing everything they can to make it up to those who got left out in the cold, even offering a demo for ME 2 to let PlayStation 3 owners know what they're getting into come the new year.
It's recently been revealed that the PS3 port was built entirely in the Mass Effect 3 engine, so PS3 owners will have a first look at what ME3 will be like when it finally launches.
We'll keep you posted on any updates, but for the moment you can save the date, as Mass Effect 3 will be released on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on November 8, 2011.
Source: GameStop