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Contents

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition contains single-player base content from all three titles in the original Mass Effect trilogy: Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. The compilation also includes almost all single-player downloadable content (DLC) that was originally released for each game, such as promotional weapons, armors, and packs. Set within the Milky Way galaxy during the 22nd century, the trilogy consists of action role-playing games in which the player assumes the role of Commander Shepard, an elite human soldier who must unite the galactic community against a highly advanced machine race of synthetic-organic starships called Reapers. Shepard is a customizable character whose morality is determined by the player, and during each game, the player makes choices that can impact the story in various ways. These choices and consequences can be carried forward through the trilogy.

All three titles were remastered for Legendary Edition, which includes updated textures, shaders, models, effects, and technical features. The games also run in sharper resolutions and at higher frames per second than their original counterparts. The compilation includes a launcher that allows players to start all three titles from one place, and there is a universal character creator that includes customization options from all three games. If desired, players can use the default female Commander Shepard model, which was originally only included in Mass Effect 3, across the trilogy. The second and third entries feature similar gameplay to their original versions, but have received some adjustments, such as the rebalancing of the "Galactic Readiness" system from Mass Effect 3 to compensate for no longer having a multiplayer mode.

Mass Effect has received more extensive upgrades than its counterparts, and is akin to a partial remake. The game includes additional visual updates, such as the addition of smoke effects and volumetric lighting to certain levels, and modified skyboxes. Combat has been updated in an attempt to feel more consistent with the sequels, including improved aim assist with a stickier lock-on, a dedicated melee button, rebalanced weapons, and smarter enemy and squad artificial intelligence. The Mako, which is an all-terrain vehicle that is primarily used by the player for traversal, has received a speed increase and updated physics. Exploration around the world has also been tweaked, such as reduced time spent in elevators that are utilized as a way to hide loading screens, which was a commonly criticized aspect of the original game.

Development and release

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is being developed by BioWare with assistance from Abstraction Games and Blind Squirrel Games, and will be published by Electronic Arts. BioWare had previously discussed developing a remaster of the original Mass Effect trilogy in 2014, but did not not begin work on the project until 2019. Abstraction Games was contracted to assist with the adaptation of each game for newer consoles, and help with optimizations and improvements, mostly with regards to graphics. The overall project was directed by Mac Walters, who previously served as lead writer for Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

Early in the development process, BioWare consulted with Epic Games to determine the feasibility of porting the games from their original engine, Unreal Engine 3, to the current version of the engine, Unreal Engine 4. BioWare eventually determined that the amount of work required to do so was significant, and would involve remaking large aspects of the games, such as redoing all cinematic scenes. They were also concerned that an overhaul of that magnitude would fundamentally change and take away from the original trilogy experience. Based on these findings, BioWare decided to keep the games on their original engine, and also to approach the project as a remaster as opposed to a remake. Due to its complicated nature and potential impact on the project's timeline, BioWare also decided that the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer mode would not be included. The team intended to include all single-player DLC in the package, but was unable to include the Pinnacle Station pack from Mass Effect because its source code was corrupted, which Walters described as "heartbreaking".

As part of the remastering process, BioWare increased resolutions for all textures throughout the trilogy. This was accomplished by increasing the engine cap on texture sizes and running the original, uncompressed source art through an artificial intelligence up-resolution program and other custom batch tools. By the spring of 2020, Legendary Edition entered a "baseline" state where the games were fully playable and BioWare's first round of improvements had been implemented. However, the team felt that the original Mass Effect was still lagging behind the other games in terms of visuals, so they brought the game's original art director, Derek Watts, onboard to add new details and effects. The game also received a significant amount of gameplay updates, which was done in order to modernize the experience and to remove "friction" with its sequels.

Legendary Edition was officially announced on November 7, 2020, which is also known as "N7 Day", a date declared by BioWare as an annual celebration of the Mass Effect franchise. The compilation will be released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on May 14, 2021. Although it will run and feature targeted enhancements on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 through backward compatibility, BioWare has no plans to release versions of Legendary Edition specifically for those consoles. Walters has commented that while he would personally like to port the compilation to Nintendo Switch, the studio has no official plans to do because the primary focus of the project was limited to the eighth generation of video game consoles.