Mass Effect: Andromeda Finally Has a Release Date

Bioware finally announced a release date for Mass Effect: Andromeda, the fourth entry in the Mass Effect series, and it’s kind of soon.

The last Mass Effect game came out in 2012. Depending on what choice you made, life as we knew it either ended or Commander Shepard saved the entire galaxy from the reapers. Either way, the story basically ended. Well, unless you went back and replayed the entire trilogy again, as I’m sure many of us did.

While we knew another Mass Effect would be released eventually, Andromeda sure took its time. Many fans believed that the fourth title would be released last year, but E3 only gave us gameplay footage and a vague premise: The player controls Male or Female Ryder and the story takes place in the Andromeda galaxy. That meant we were officially saying goodbye to Commander Shepard and any Krogan you previously developed an attachment to.

Now only four days into the new year, we finally received official word as to when Mass Effect: Andromeda hits shelves. And, thankfully, it’s more concrete than just Q1. From the official Mass Effect website, Andromeda will be released on March 21, 2017. Depending on where you’re at in your life cycle, this release is just in time for spring break.

If you’re wondering what took the developers so long, here’s the official word from Aaryn Flynn, the General Manager of BioWare:

"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."

If the gameplay trailer is any indication, Andromeda could easily be the best game in the series.

Warm up your console and find your favorite controller, because Andromeda drops in just two months!