May 4, 2011 by Paul Curtin
2011 is shaping up to be the best year ever for new video game releases with titles like Dead Space 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Killzone 3, Crysis 2, Bulletstorm, Homefront, Mortal Kombat, SOCOM 4, and Portal 2 already released throughout the year — and we’re not even halfway to 2012. And with even more massive titles planned for release during the next seven months, studios with the most on the line like Naughty Dog (Uncharted 3) and Epic Games (Gears of War 3) are waiting until the final quarter of 2011 to take each other on for the coveted title of Game of the Year.
Unfortunately for gamers (fortunate for other studios), 2011 just got a little less massive with BioWare announcing today that they will be delaying the release of Mass Effect 3 and pushing the release date back from Holiday 2011 into the first quarter of 2012. Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series, Casey Hudon had this to say via BioWare’s official blog:
“Today we have confirmed that Mass Effect 3 will be released in the first three months of 2012. The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations. We’ll have more details about specific dates as we get closer to release.”
While 2011 won’t be as great without Mass Effect 3, I’m actually pleased with this announcement. There are far too many great games coming out towards the end of the year and I’d like to have some time to enjoy each game individually. If anything, the added development time will be for the best. Check out the two new images BioWare released with their announement below.
