Announcement this week

Jun 23, 2009 17:21 GMT  ·  By

When Mass Effect was initially released for the Xbox 360, BioWare stated that it planned to release a “constant stream” of downloadable content for the game, expanding the adventures that Commander Shepard and his crew could undertake in the galaxy.

After all, the open nature of the game and the possibility to introduce new races and conflicts were among the main selling points for the fresh franchise. But the only piece of DLC that really reached gamers was Bring Down the Sky, which focused on the efforts to stop a terrorist attack against a colony of humans. It was sold for the Xbox 360 and offered for free on the PC.

Now, it seems that BioWare intends to make good on its initial promise and offer another piece of DLC for the first release of Mass Effect, just as the hype machine is getting into gear and as gamers are seeking more information on Mass Effect 2, which is set to arrive sometime in early 2010. It appears that BioWare intends to make the new add-on a sort of prequel to the second game in the series, which has been described as being the Empire Strikes Back of Mass Effect.

Lead designer Preston Watamaniuk stated that “Something that we weren't able to pull off, we didn't think we had the time and we didn't think we'd do well enough, which was a fight club, or an arena. So we're working on that for our next downloadable content piece, which we're hoping will be really special.”

Releasing new content for a game that is close to two years old could be a shrewd move on BioWare's part. Players who are interested in the series will get the DLC, especially if it’s priced attractively, and will probably replay the initial game setting themselves up for a better experience in the coming Mass Effect 2, which is great for the developer.