In the wake of the Mass Effect 3 ending controversy, BioWare made it clear that it had been listening to the constructive feedback from the unhappy fans that weren't the ones breathlessly hurling death threats at anyone who might possibly be listening. Based on that feedback, Dr. Ray Muzyka stated that new content would be coming for the game that provided additional context for the existing ending. Of course, the worry there was that EA might use this as some cynical opportunity to charge for even more added content. As of today, we can put at least that particular fear to rest.

EA and BioWare today announced Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a free piece of DLC that will add additional cutscenes and epilogue scenes that will expound upon the existing ending--not change the ending outright, as some of us feared. Said series producer Casey Hudson of the new DLC:

We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player.

There isn't a specific release date for the Extended Cut DLC yet. The press release just provides an open-ended "summer" release date for all versions of the game.

What do you think? Does this sound like enough of an addition to possibly address the issues you may have had with Mass Effect 3's end? Or is this not the solution you were looking for?

In the wake of the Mass Effect 3 ending controversy, BioWare made it clear that it had been listening to the constructive feedback from the unhappy fans that weren't the ones breathlessly hurling death threats at anyone who might possibly be listening. Based on that feedback, Dr. Ray Muzyka stated that new content would be coming for the game that provided additional context for the existing ending. Of course, the worry there was that EA might use this as some cynical opportunity to charge for even more added content. As of today, we can put at least that particular fear to rest.

EA and BioWare today announced Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a free piece of DLC that will add additional cutscenes and epilogue scenes that will expound upon the existing ending--not change the ending outright, as some of us feared. Said series producer Casey Hudson of the new DLC:

We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player.

There isn't a specific release date for the Extended Cut DLC yet. The press release just provides an open-ended "summer" release date for all versions of the game.

What do you think? Does this sound like enough of an addition to possibly address the issues you may have had with Mass Effect 3's end? Or is this not the solution you were looking for?

Really surprised EA convinced Microsoft to allow them to release this DLC/patch for free. Don't MS have some pretty stringent rules regarding this stuff? EA must be suffering a pretty heavy financial loss because of this fiasco.

Erg, I feel dirty

Strangely glad I only Lovefilmed this game.

I don't like how any of htis played out but I hated the ending. Apparenlty some people hated it more causing this response from Bioware...I'll play it but IDK...damage seems done.

Weak... Bioware, don't you know that when you cave to fan pressure, the terrorists win?

let the speculation begin

And this ending will incense all those that thought the original ending was good enough and shouldn't be added to.

By the time I get around to playing it, I expect the ending to have been changed three more times on top of this and only see the original endings and first edits on YouTube.

Isn't it sorta too late? I mean, sure I'll check the new cutscenes out, but the damage has already been done... Even if they are great, my playthrough of the game was still ruined. Just adding some cutscenes at this point won't really matter for people that already finished the game.

I wasn't one of the crazy people freaking out over a video game ending but I will play this dlc since it's free.

People won't be satisfied. I can already tell.

Straight outa Peter Jackson's book.

@MichaelEM3 said:

Really surprised EA convinced Microsoft to allow them to release this DLC/patch for free. Don't MS have some pretty stringent rules regarding this stuff? EA must be suffering a pretty heavy financial loss because of this fiasco.

How could that possibly be true? Didn't Mass Effect 3 sell a lot of copies?

The endings not the total problem, it's the game itself. Too late for me, time to move on I reckon.

I don't understand why it has a timelimit on it. Isn't the sentiment behind it that the game is not a good enough experience and a let-down that itsn't good enough with out it? If it is then doesn't this just say "well it is only not good enough for people today and after April 2014 then the people playing it then do not deserve the better exerience with the game".

It is minor but still very odd.

I am 100% satisfied with this announcement.

Every fan complaining about the ending is a fan who bought the game and played it through to completion. Of course given how heavy EA's been leaning on the DLC lately, they may well still see those fans as potential customers they need to please.

snow globe ending would be amazing, thanks for planting the idea Alex.

The journey was great, let down ending or not (the ending was fine) I am mature enough to not let something as trivial as the ending ruin my entire 200 hour mass effect experience.

I think it's too little, too late really. By the time 'summer' rolls around everyone who cares will have finished the game and moved on.

I doubt it'll build up any excitement for future DLC.

@Tebbit said:

@MichaelEM3 said:

Really surprised EA convinced Microsoft to allow them to release this DLC/patch for free. Don't MS have some pretty stringent rules regarding this stuff? EA must be suffering a pretty heavy financial loss because of this fiasco.

How could that possibly be true? Didn't Mass Effect 3 sell a lot of copies?

I meant a heavy financial loss independent of whatever they made off total copies shipped/sold. I meant they probably had to pay MS an illegal amount of money for them to get this free DLC past cert.

I don't think this was necessary, but hopefully it doesn't 'over-explain for babies'.

The vocal minority will not be appeased regardless, too much hate-mentum.

So, their licensing and patching in that youtube video then? Animal House epilogue is all I want.

@MichaelEM3 said:

@Tebbit said:

@MichaelEM3 said:

Really surprised EA convinced Microsoft to allow them to release this DLC/patch for free. Don't MS have some pretty stringent rules regarding this stuff? EA must be suffering a pretty heavy financial loss because of this fiasco.

How could that possibly be true? Didn't Mass Effect 3 sell a lot of copies?

I meant a heavy financial loss independent of whatever they made off total copies shipped/sold. I meant they probably had to pay MS an illegal amount of money for them to get this free DLC past cert.

I dunno. If I were Microsoft I wouldn't want Sony to be able to say "The only place you get get the extended version of Mass Effect 3".

Bioware has no chance to win. Expand on / personalize the original ending and you still leave everyone who thinks the ending was terrible on its own merits. Change the ending and you piss off a smaller group of people, but more importantly all game journalists who have staked their integrity on the ground here for some reason.

The only winning move is to have made a good ending in the first place.

"will add additional cutscenes and epilogue scenes"

So no shootin' shit and bangin' crew members? COME ON!

good I guess?

I really wasn't all that bothered by the ending, but yeah, I think releasing some free additional content is totally fine. I mean I think it is silly that people got so mad about it and basically forced a company to change something they were happy with, but I think that putting it out for free is the best way to do it. And I am glad it is not a rewrite of the ending, but an expansion on the ending. 

@Dany said:

I don't like how any of htis played out but I hated the ending. Apparenlty some people hated it more causing this response from Bioware...I'll play it but IDK...damage seems done.

I think Lewis Black said it the best when he talked about the election that you have a choice between two, or in this case Three, bowls of shit,. You just have to decide which one's smell you like better. That's how I feel about the ending.

However, you are 100% right. Damage is done. With this and the whole DA2 debacle I think Bioware's name with a lot of gamers have been tarnished beyond repair. I just hope the move to attract new player while alienating veteran ones will pay off to them. I know ME3 will be the last Bioware game I play because as someone who's been with them since the Baldur's Gate days; I just don't think I am their target crowd anymore, and that's fine with me. Gotta know when to move on, right?

Everyone should just deal with it. They made a shitty ending. End of story. OR IS IT?

In the face of a pretty crappy situation, I'd say this was about the best they could do.

Um, yay? I guess? An announcement that leaves everyone unfulfilled and feeling a bit down about it.

Just like the ending itself. Can't undo that cockup, and trying to fix it will just annoy more people.

I'm glad they're doing it this way. I don't mind a melancholy ending (kind of expected it, actually), but I would have liked to see my choices have a little more effect (ha). Whether they do a post ending "Animal House" style roll of what happens to everyone, or just flesh it out with a few cutscenes of the survivors honoring Shepard, I think the ending will feel less jarring and more like the ending a story this big usually gets when it's a film or book.

This is probably the best scenario- free, sticking to their artistic vision but not completely ignoring the complaints of fans.

Hopefully I don't have to replay the last mission to see this. I wasn't enraged by the ending but I'm curious about this piece of content.

i was mostly fine with the original ending, i am glad they have decided to expand on it a little,

@Barrock said:

@MichaelEM3 said:

@Tebbit said:

@MichaelEM3 said:

Really surprised EA convinced Microsoft to allow them to release this DLC/patch for free. Don't MS have some pretty stringent rules regarding this stuff? EA must be suffering a pretty heavy financial loss because of this fiasco.

How could that possibly be true? Didn't Mass Effect 3 sell a lot of copies?

I meant a heavy financial loss independent of whatever they made off total copies shipped/sold. I meant they probably had to pay MS an illegal amount of money for them to get this free DLC past cert.

I dunno. If I were Microsoft I wouldn't want Sony to be able to say "The only place you get get the extended version of Mass Effect 3".

Didn't meant to imply the PS3 version won't have this DLC either. As Alex's story and the EA press release points out, all versions of the game will receive this free DLC.

It's just that Microsoft is the company that just last year forced to Supergiant Games guys to release their Bastion DLC for $1 (when SG wanted to charge nothing like they did on the PC) because "free" and "DLC" typically doesn't compute for them.

This will end well, I'm sure.

Oh well, more (free) Mass Effect content makes me happy.

Hurray for it being free, hurray for more closure, but boo because people are STILL going to bitch about this ending. I can almost guarantee that.

Yes

Situation sucks, ending was fine, but I'm still super-excited for more ME3 content. Can't wait for news on the real DLC as well.

I was ok with the ending just let down by the galactic readiness not paying off.

So it's bigger, longer, and uncut? Well, at least it's free.

This is EA giving up for the whiners and yet its still the worst company in America?

I'm hopeful this will address the problems I had with the ME3 ending, it sounds like it will at least, but I'm now of the conclusion that the not liking last 20 minutes of a 30+ hour game isn't something that's stopping me liking the REST of it. If this makes those last 20 minutes better, then great, if not, I still really like ME3.

Also, who's surprised at the "OMG BIOWARE WAY TO CAVE TO FAN PRESSURE!" outrage from a lot of people already ? Especially since I'd be willing to bet a lot of those people are the same one's who wanted this in the first place.

YES! This is the best thing they could have done. People who want a totally new ending need to be locked into an asylum.

Nothing has really changed here from the time they announced they were releasing post-game DLC. Well, outside of the fact that they've at least come out and said that this is free, which they were going to have to do anyway unless they wanted to greatly upset  just about everyone, including those that didn't have any qualms about the ending. It's still up in the air since we don't know how exactly they're "clarifying" the ending, or even what that means to them.
 
 If all of the nonsensical, plot hole-ridden absurdity of the current ending isn't explained in a satisfactory way (which will likely be the case given how difficult/impossible that would be), people are still going to be upset. That's to say nothing of whether the story provides resolution or the new DLC provides choices that differ in any true way. While it won't make me feel any differently about Bioware if they don't at least address the broken story, it's plausible that they'll at least placate some sections of their audience even if it comes at the expense of inflaming another. From that standpoint, this move probably works logically for them, since it's better to have a still really pissed-off smaller group of people than have everyone that's currently angry not buy their games in the future.

I'm not starting the game till I can import my Shepard's face, so it's definitely not too late for me. I'm mulling over whether I want to download the extended ending before or after seeing the original one, just to find out what the deal was.

Part of me hopes that this DLC is extremely awful and doesn't satisfy anyone who complained enough about the ending to warrant this response, but the other part of me really just doesn't want to ever hear anything about Mass Effect ever again.

@rustyengel said:

The journey was great, let down ending or not (the ending was fine) I am mature enough to not let something as trivial as the ending ruin my entire 200 hour mass effect experience.

Right. I wasn't all that letdown and the Synthesis ending makes lots of sense to me. But I am not going to let a small part ruin what has been a great series and should continue to be one.