BioWare confirmed today that its Mass Effect Legendary Edition won't receive a proper PS5 or Xbox Series X/S release, but there's apparently a good reason according to the studio. The long-awaited Mass Effect remaster trilogy got a big info dump today with a new trailer, release date, and more, but some were likely disappointed to see that current-gen systems aren't getting native ports.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is something the franchise's dedicated fan community has been clamoring for for years now. As more and more games continued to get ported to Xbox One and PS4, fans of the sci-fi trilogy hoped that EA would hear their calls. As time went on, any return to Mass Effect after Andromeda began to look more and more unlikely, with EA seemingly unwilling to confirm anything. At the tail end of the generation, however, EA finally relented and announced BioWare was remastering the entire trilogy, which is coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC with the ability to play it on Xbox Series X/S and PS5 via backward compatibility.
The reason for the notable exclusion of the new consoles with Mass Effect Legendary Edition apparently comes down to BioWare not feeling it had the resources to really make a proper next-gen version. "To me if I'm buying a game on this next-generation of hardware, I expect a lot from it, and I think it's more than what we could have pushed [Unreal Engine 3] to do, and again more than we could've done with a true remaster," director Mac Waters told IGN. "To me it would have felt a little disingenuous. I think it's better suited for the next Mass Effect."
Waters also noted that there's no plans for a next-gen upgrade or specific enhancements for PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, but he does suggest that Mass Effect Legendary Edition will still benefit from playing the game using forward compatibility. On this front, things seem much less excusable, as games even older than the original Mass Effect have received huge boosts to performance and visuals on these newer consoles (particularly Microsoft's new machines). It's not clear what's holding the Mass Effect remasters back from getting the same treatment, but its seems clear that current-gen consoles are not the Legendary Edition team's top priority.
On all consoles that support them, though, Mass Effect Legendary Edition will boast all kinds of enhancements such as changes to gameplay, 4K resolution, and more. As BioWare plans to ship this collection, they're also working on a fifth Mass Effect game. No details or even a title have been revealed but the game had a noteworthy teaser at The Game Awards in December, which is packed with all kinds of clues.
Source: IGN
Mass Effect Legendary Edition will release on May 14, 2021 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.