As you may well know, Mass Effect: Andromeda, the highly anticipated successor in the Mass Effect video game series by EA, has been delayed to Q1 2017. The Sci-fi RPG will launch in about eight months from now and we’ll get the first look at its gameplay during EA’s E3 Showcase this year.
With Mass Effect™: Andromeda, our team at BioWare™ is exploring how far they can take this beloved franchise. Yes, we’re building the best of what we all love about Mass Effect – amazing stories, characters and fun third-person shooter combat – and bringing them along with us on the expedition to Andromeda. But we’re also excited to be introducing new features and ways you can enjoy a Mass Effect game.
• More Freedom: One of our biggest ambitions is to give players an unprecedented level of freedom for a Mass Effect experience –where you’ll go, how you’ll get there, and how you’ll play.
• New Uncharted Worlds: We’re leaving the Milky Way behind and headed to Andromeda, where we’ll meet new allies, confront new enemies, and explore fascinating new worlds.
• The Next Great Mass Effect Experience: Mass Effect: Andromeda will be the first Mass Effect game for today’s consoles and the first built on the Frostbite engine. We’re pushing the technology to deliver visuals, story, and gameplay that have never been done in franchise history.
As we’ve been playing the game at the studio recently, it’s showing us that we’re taking the game in the right direction. But we also know we need the right amount of time to make sure we deliver everything the game can be and should be – that’s our commitment from all of us to all of you. Because of that, Mass Effect: Andromeda will now ship in early 2017. We can’t wait to show you how far we’re all going to go. We’ll see you at the EA PLAY press conference on June 12, with an update.
Thank you for your patience and support.
Now, a rumor has surfaced from NeoGAF user “shinobi”, who claims the reason for the delay is to address one of Mass Effect 3’s (and the series in general) biggest complaints: facial animations in numerous comments on a NeoGAF thread.
According to him, we shouldn’t “expect it (EA’s E3 presentation) to take up half of EA’s presser like Fallout did but it’ll be at the show in a big way. Lots of gameplay, media blowout, etc.”
Also, when asked by a fellow user about the situation surrounding the game, he had this to say to reassure the users:
More than fine, they’re well on track from what I’m told. The game’s playable from beginning to end. The delay is only by a few months for extra polish and there really hasn’t been any management changes. Chris Wynn was a senior development director and not really in charge of creative ideas, and he was only on the team for about 18 months. Schlerf was lead writer and his role was pretty much done before he left. They’ve brought on some good talent in the meantime too, including from Naughty Dog.
Having seen a decent chunk of gameplay in action, I think people are going to love what they see. It looks fucking amazing.
He also revealed the specific reasons for the delay of the game, saying:
Yea they’re specifically trying to address the repeating animations in the last trilogy. It’s really to do with the limited memory of old gen. They’ve implemented a lot of new techniques for Andromeda.
And I was mostly talking about facial animation too. It’s a huge step up. Pleasantly surprised.
All in all, what Shinobi has said seems to show that the game was delayed for all the good reasons: polishing it to make it a better title. The game is developed by BioWare and published by EA, and is expected to launch on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in early 2017.
