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Microsoft Provides Update on Mass Effect |
As soon as EA announced
it had acquired BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios, the Xbox community
wondered what would happen to the Mass Effect trilogy, which BioWare
intended to begin and end on the Xbox 360 platform.
First, Microsoft Game Studios has confirmed that EA’s acquisition of
the developer of “Jade Empire” and “Star Wars: Knights of the Old
Republic” won’t at all affect next month’s release of Mass Effect.
However, future games in this franchise are facing a dark horizon:
Microsoft has not yet announced specifics regarding sequels to “Mass
Effect” but we’ll be talking to EA and BioWare in the weeks to come.
“Mass Effect” is the most anticipated role-playing game of the season,
on any platform, and we are committed to the franchise’s long term
success.
When we asked about the ownership of the intellectual property,
Microsoft confirmed that--unlike the Halo and Project Gotham Racing
IPs, which are owned by Microsoft and not the respective
developers--BioWare Corp. owns the Mass Effect IP.
Published by Microsoft Game Studios, Mass Effect will ship to
retailers throughout North America on November 20, 2007. The recipient
of more than 50 awards, including the 2007 Game Critics Awards for
“Best Console Game” and “Best RPG” at the Electronic Entertainment Expo
last month in Los Angeles, “Mass Effect” is poised to become the
must-play RPG of 2007. |
