A Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy has practically been rumored since the release of Mass Effect 3. It has only been over the past year, however, that speculation has really reached a head with a flurry of new evidence fueling rumors of an announcement coming soon.
The release of the Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy would make plenty of sense this year, with BioWare trying to recuperate with a sure-fire success after the disappointing release of Mass Effect: Andromeda and the even more damaging reception of a new IP, Anthem. There’s more than just rumors to fuel the fire, however, so here’s every bit of evidence that points towards the release date of the Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy.
The Initial Evidence
There’s a lot of evidence that a Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy is in the works. BioWare’s general manager at the developer's Edmonton and Montreal studios posted on the NeoGaf forums asking fans of what features they’d be interesting in seeing in a remaster of the Mass Effect trilogy in 2014. However, fan hopes were stunted slightly by the fact that the employee, Aaryn Flynn, also used the posts to express his own hopes for a remaster, which suggested that BioWare was not necessarily considering the project at the time.
Fans only got a second reason to hope for a Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy two years later, when EA executive vice president Patrick Soderlund spoke about a Mass Effect remaster at Gamscom 2016. Soderlund said that BioWare was “absolutely actively looking at it,” and that the developer would likely “follow our fellow partners in Activision and other companies that have done this successfully.” While there have been some hugely successful remasters in the time since 2016, particularly the remaster of the original Halo trilogy, it’s worth noting that both Flynn and Soderlund have moved on from the company since their comments were made.
May 2020 to May 2021
A lot more evidence arose of a Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy at the start of 2020, and more and more evidence has come to light as the year has progressed. In January 2020, BioWare’s official Twitter posted tweets which hinted at a Mass Effect remaster. One of the tweets showed the introduction to the first Mass Effect, released in 2007, making many fans hopeful that BioWare would be inviting them to begin the journey again with a remaster.
Some of the biggest evidence came to light in May, with EA announcing its release schedule across its studios from May 2020 to May 2021. This outlined 14 upcoming EA titles which were in development across EA-owned studios like BioWare. While some of the games titles were confirmed, one simple read “EA HD Title,” which led many fans to speculate that this could be the remaster, and that EA was allowing BioWare to hold back for an announcement on N7 Day.
N7 Day
N7 Day – November 7 – is named after the code for the Systems Alliance military in Mass Effect and is a day that BioWare usually announces Mass Effect-related news. N7 Day 2020 remains the most likely date for the announcement of the Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy for a few key reasons.
June and July of 2020 saw more signs pointing towards a remaster on the way. The entire original Mass Effect trilogy was released on Steam in June, as well as Andromeda. This release helped bring new positivity to the series’ outlooks, with even Andromeda gaining a “Very Positive” rating. It was July, however, that really began to excite fans for the possibilities of a remaster.
Dark Horse announced in July that the publisher would be releasing a follow-up to The Art of the Mass Effect Universe, released back in 2012 when the original trilogy came to a close. The new edition would be a 272-page artbook, The Art of the Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition. Many fans noted that Andromeda concept art would not be featured in the book, and its focus on the original trilogy seemed to be setting up a remaster for release some time around February 23 of next year, when the new edition was due for release on Amazon.
The Rumored Delay
There were many rumors that the Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy would be announced on N7 Day 2020 and released late in the same year. There were even rumors that the game might be announced in October 2020, though with the month quickly coming to a close those rumors seem increasingly unlikely. While it is still very possible that the game will be announced on N7 Day, new rumors suggest that the Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy has been delayed until 2021, possibly due to delays caused by COVID-19 and the developers working from home.
This still makes it possible, however, that the remaster will be set for a release before May 2021, which would still confirm many of the rumors over the past year. With Mass Effect 5 still a long way away, there will be a lot of pressure on BioWare to have something to show on N7 Day, which still makes it the best bet for the future of the Mass Effect remaster.
Other delayed games like Outriders were only delayed until the first quarter of 2021, which means fans may only have to wait a little longer than some expected for news about the remaster. N7 Day will either validate many of the rumors and fan hopes so far, or it could create a flurry of new speculation if the remaster is not announced.
For now, however, fans and speculators have little to do but wait for November 7 and hope that the evidence stacked in their favor is enough to make their hopes a reality. If nothing else, BioWare has already announced that Mass Effect 5 is officially on the way, but with the future of the franchise as unclear as ever after Mass Effect: Andromeda, many would be relieved to see the series return to its roots with a remaster.
The Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy is reportedly in development.