Mass Effect 3 Re-Adding Multiplayer In Legendary Edition Is A Bad Idea

Although BioWare made significant upgrades to the Mass Effect games to prepare for the Legendary Edition - including graphics, gameplay, and interface changes - it also had to make some cuts. Chief among these was Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode, which was, of course, a major selling point when the game first shipped in 2012. This was mostly done because of business reasons, but probably the right call.

The original release of Mass Effect 3 included a co-operative horde mode called Galaxy at War. This supported up to four players, who were tasked with completing various objectives while surviving incoming waves. In-game currency was used to unlock new characters and items, and for about a year, BioWare also hosted challenges with special rewards. Collective efforts were able to influence the single-player story via a "Galactic Readiness" system - this had to be altered for the Mass Effect Legendary Edition release.

While there are rumors that BioWare is planning to bring multiplayer back, perhaps announcing it at an EA Play event on June 12, it's worth remembering that the mode was cut from the Legendary Edition because the company wanted to focus efforts on single-player enhancements. Mass Effect is most famous as a single-player series, and when the third entry was originally announced, a lot of gamers felt that multiplayer was just being tacked on. Indeed, a number of titles around that era seemed to shoehorn multiplayer in a bid to become the Next Big Thing, tap into the DLC market, or simply improve their longevity. Mass Effect 3's multiplayer doesn't have much raison d’être - there are more popular and unique multiplayer games out there. Coming to Mass Effect for a horde mode is (almost) ridiculous in a world with Gears of War and Left 4 Dead.

BioWare Could Be Throwing Good Mass Effect Money After Bad

Practically speaking, it would take a surge of interest to prevent a new Mass Effect multiplayer mode from following the fate of its predecessor. While the original Mass Effect 3 mode had its fans, it never became a phenomenon and quickly faded into obscurity. Steam Charts show a peak player count of just 179 in the last 30 days - this despite renewed publicity for Mass Effect. It seems likely that while tens of thousands of people might try revived multiplayer, they're going to forget it by the time the next Call of Duty ships. BioWare would probably be better off dedicating time, money, and servers to other projects.

A successful revival of Mass Effect's multiplayer would be a plus, regardless - though the mode might be redundant, fun is fun. It's rare for any game's failure to be a good thing, but what players have already in Mass Effect Legendary Edition is fantastic on its own, and doesn't really need embellishment.

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