Mass Effect: Andromeda Lauch Date Revealed

Hot off the press that Mass Effect: Andromeda won't be coming to the Switch (whaaaat), Bioware's general manager Aaryn Flynn released a blog post, announcing the final release date of their upcoming space adventure and celebrating their long journey to get to this point.  So mark your calendars, folks: Mass Effect: Andromeda will be launching in North America on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 and beginning Thursday, March 23, 2017 in Europe.

Take it away, sir:

"Mass Effect: Andromeda is our most ambitious Mass Effect game to date. We’re telling completely new stories, creating new characters, new planets, new species, and introducing new gameplay systems. And for the first time, we’re bringing Mass Effect to the FrostbiteTM game engine, an incredible engine that’s delivering a tremendous graphical jump from the trilogy to Mass Effect: Andromeda. To deliver on this, we’re taking all the time we can to make sure you’re getting the best possible experience."

Mass Effect 3, of course, found itself at the center of some controversy, given the ending was seen as many as a lazy, cheap, unsatisfying conclusion for a much-beloved series. Bioware seems to be taking their concern to heart, as they apparently have no plans on ever ending a story ever again. Taking place in the distant future after the events of the first game, in an entirely separate galaxy, Andromeda is shaping up to be an interesting addition to the series. A welcome one? That's harder to gauge. People generally haven't been as excited for this one as they were for the third, and I for one don't look forward to the reliance on crafting. Nothing quite like being forced to scour planets and pick flowers to really give me the feeling of living in a distant, future galaxy.

Whatever. I could be wrong. Hope I am. We'll figure that out in a few months.