The anticipation for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is rapidly mounting after today's announcement of the game's May 14 release date, but there's one thing missing from the massive compilation of content: Pinnacle Station. The DLC, which released as an add-on to the original Mass Effect, is not going to be part of the Legendary Edition when it releases.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is a remaster of the much-loved trilogy, optimized for current-generation technology and including all single-player base content, as well as over 40 pieces of DLC. Pinnacle Station was the second piece of DLC added to Mass Effect, but during development of the Legendary Edition, BioWare made the tough call to exclude it from the game.
Back in the day, Pinnacle Station served as an exciting way to hone combat skills aboard a top-secret Alliance space station, including 13 combat scenarios and a whole new location to explore. It would've made a nice addition to the Legendary Edition, but BioWare hit a roadblock during development: developers were unable to get a hold of the source code for the DLC. Game director Mac Walters told Game Informer about the ordeal, explaining that another studio, Demiurge, actually made Pinnacle Station, and when BioWare tried to recover the code, its data was almost entirely corrupted - even vital links were missing. Walters elaborated, saying that to include Pinnacle Station in the Legendary Edition, the studio would've essentially had to build it from scratch all over again, adding roughly six months to the development process.
Given all that, it seems like the exclusion of Pinnacle Station was more or less beyond BioWare's control. The decision was a difficult one, but delaying the release of the Legendary Edition over non-essential DLC ultimately doesn't make sense. Despite hopes that the Legendary Edition would include all DLC, fans will have to content themselves with the 40+ DLC that will be included, and really, that should be enough. Pinnacle Station isn't the only piece of content left on the cutting room floor, either. BioWare also decided to cut Mass Effect 3's multiplayer element, deeming it too complicated to add to the remaster.
Despite the loss of Pinnacle Station, it is not considered an "essential" DLC by a long shot, unlike other pieces of DLC included in the Mass Effect remaster such as Citadel and Leviathan, or squad members Kasumi and Zaeed in Mass Effect 2. It's a small loss to get the game that much sooner, and fans will likely understand why the decision had to be made.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launches May 14 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Game Informer