Mass Effect 3 'Online Multiplayer Pass' Leaked by Retailer

Mass Effect 3 might have just seen one of its biggest surprise features leaked early by a South African retailer, as a listing about its Collector's Edition mentions a special "Online Multiplayer Pass" that's included in the package.

Mass Effect 3 was scheduled to be released at the end of this year, but was delayed into 2012, now being set to arrive on March 6.

Since the delay, quite a lot of people wondered what sorts of other features would BioWare include to make the delay worth it. We've already seen support for Microsoft's Kinect sensor on the Xbox 360 platform, but rumors are still floating around the web concerning a special multiplayer mode that might appear in the new sci-fi, third person shooter RPG.

Now, a listing from the in-store magazine of a South African retailer mentions that a special 'Online Multiplayer Pass' is included in the already confirmed Mass Effect 3 N7 Collector's Edition, beside features like a steelbook case, N7 patch or a litograph of the Normandy space ship.

As you can imagine, this mention of multiplayer is causing quite a lot of interesting reactions on the BioWare forums, but an official statement has yet to appear.

Bear in mind, however, that such a pass might just be a misunderstanding, with the retailer trying to mention the traditional online pass service used by EA to ensure that second hand gamers pay to get features like access to a multiplayer mode.

In games without such online modes, like the recent Dragon Age 2 or even Mass Effect 2, the online pass appeared in the form of the Black Emporium or Cerberus Network DLC, which allowed access to specific items or features.

Still, we can't say for sure if it's worth getting excited about this Online Multiplayer pass, so until we hear it from BioWare or EA, Mass Effect 3 is still a single-player game.