Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Has Gone Gold

BioWare has crossed a huge milestone when it comes to getting Mass Effect: Legendary Edition in the hands of players eager to relive the original trilogy. This new version of the classic series has taken some time to be brought to life, and BioWare has made some changes to the Mass Effect games with the newly updated package, though it has now gone gold.

The announcement comes courtesy of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Project Director Mac Walters, who went to Twitter to share with fans that the game is ready to ship. While this doesn't mean that the release date has any changes planned, it does mean that BioWare has the game in a finished state and can start working on the extra polish until launch.

Going gold is a huge milestone for the development of any title, as this is when the developer has assessed that the game is ready to ship. Considering that this game, in particular, is a remaster of older titles, it might seem to fans that getting to this point is an easy point to cross, as much of the game was already completed in the older versions. However, the changes and improvements coming to Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, in everything from the combat to the newly designed Mako, means that BioWare was essentially rebuilding large portions of the game from the ground up.

Fans have also begun to flock to the announcement, showing their excitement to jump back into the original Mass Effect trilogy with BioWare's promised improvements. There are plenty of fans, however, that have also noted that no matter how many tweaks and changes are made to the formula, Mass Effect's Commander Shepard still can't dance. Of course, that's keeping with the canon anyway, so for the most part, players are just happy to see what BioWare is preserving from the original series as the Legendary Edition attempts to assert itself as the definitive way to play.

With Mass Effect: Legendary Edition's release date right around the corner, it is good news to see that the game has gone gold and is ready to ship over a month in advance. There will likely still be a day one patch, or some type of update within the first few weeks of when the game launches, as that has become the industry standard with this type of release. That being said, if BioWare is confident enough to say that the game is finished now, then most players should be able to plug and play once it starts hitting store shelves.

The release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is a little over a month away, and details have been pouring in on what audiences can expect from the remaster. To make the experience even better than players remember, a lot of gameplay tuning and rebalancing have been done. For example, calibrations to the infamous M-35 Mako from the original Mass Effect are fixing many longstanding issues.

Despite the first game releasing all the way back in 2007, few have forgotten what driving the M-35 Mako was like. The controls were frustrating enough that several Mass Effect mods were created and specifically designed to make the experience better. Having heard feedback from players over the years, BioWare is fine-tuning and making improvements to the vehicle in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.