Mass Effect Delayed

BioWare has announced that the PC version of its hit RPG Mass Effect will be delayed – but only briefly.

On BioWare’s Mass Effect forum, Community Coordinator Chris Priestly wrote, “I have just confirmed with the development team that we are making a small change to the release date of Mass Effect for the PC. We had previously announced May 6, 2008 for North America. The new release date for North America is May 28, 2008 and June 6, 2008 in Europe.”

The delay is the result of a decision by BioWare and co-developer Demiurge Studios to incorporate additional play-testing feedback, allowing for extra polish and tuning of the new features in the PC version of the game.

“BioWare and EA are dedicated to excellence. We’re confident that the extra time will be reflected in the final PC experience that we deliver to our fans,” Priestly wrote. “We appreciate your understanding and look forward to delivering a great game!”

Originally released in late 2007 as an Xbox 360 exclusive, the sci-fi RPG Mass Effect was very well received by critics, and has earned a 91% score at both Game Rankings and Metacritic. The PC version of the game will be optimized to include high-resolution graphics, fully customizable controls, an improved inventory interface and functionality and a recently-announced new tactical HUD which will give players access to Individual Squad Command, Biotics powers and Abilities and Weapons command interfaces all on a single screen.