Today, BioWare took to its official Twitter account to reveal that its forthcoming science fiction shooter, Mass Effect: Andromeda, has now reached the status of going "gold," much to the delight of fans and the company's employees. With this being the case, it means that BioWare has now completed the initial development process for what many consider to be one of the most highly anticipated video games of 2017, as the base game has been sent off to be pressed and copied by manufacturers.

As seen below in the tweet from BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda fans are given a look at a pretty cool gold-plated version of the action-RPG's Pathfinder character to accompany the announcement. As it happens, the image is more than just a static shot, as the developer decided to upload a GIF file depicting the figure moving slightly, while what appears to be a gentle breeze – in outer space, oddly enough – wisps past the Pathfinder character.

Although development for the base game of Mass Effect: Andromeda has been finished, BioWare still has plenty of work ahead of it in terms of the production required to supplement the title with post-launch content. Despite the fact that Andromeda won't have a season pass, there are still pieces of DLC planned for title in the future after its release, but some of the game's developers – like BioWare producer Blair Brown, for instance – are prepared to take a much-needed break.

Taking all of this into consideration, it's definitely been a lengthy development cycle for Mass Effect: Andromeda, as the game has encountered at least one publicly announced delay along the nearly 5-year-long path to its creation. Nevertheless, it's safe to say that with Andromeda now having gone gold, fans' excitement for the title will reach its highest point yet, with the release date for BioWare's space age third-person shooter now being closer than ever.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is set to release on March 21, 2017 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.