Mass Effect Returns, Team Xbox Targets Japanese Studios

More Mass Effect coming in 2021

EA has finally confirmed that BioWare is working on a remastered version of the Mass Effect trilogy, called Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

The announcement was made on November the 7th – or N7 day – and the remastered trilogy is scheduled to launch next. year. The announcement was something of an open secret already thanks to several leaks, but EA and BioWare kept up appearances and saved the surprise.

No remake: “BioWare has been hard at work updating the textures, shaders, models, effects, and technical features of three enormous games,” says the announcement. “Our goal was not to remake or reimagine the original games, but to modernize the experience so that fans and new players can experience the original work in its best possible form.”

No multiplayer: Mass Effect Legendary Edition will include all single-player content but there won't be any multiplayer support. The remastered trilogy will be released for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in spring, and will come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later. BioWare also revealed that a “veteran team” is working on an all-new Mass Effect game.

Who directed the Mass Effect trilogy?

a) Casey Hudson
b) James Ohlen
c) Greg Zeschuk
d) Mark Griskey

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

A body-eating alien buddy for Mr. Freeman

Valve’s groundbreaking Half-Life 2 was supposed to feature an alien buddy who would follow Gordon Freeman around and greedily gobble up dead bodies. Unfortunately, the AI turned out to be a nightmare to program, so lil’ gobbler was cut.

There was also supposed to be five Half-Life 2 episodes, but only two of them ever made it out the door. Episode 4 was developed by Arkane Studios, and was set between the first and second game. Valve wasn't thrilled about the story, so it got canned – along with Episode 5.

Join our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

The next generation begins this week

This is going to be a huge week for gaming, since both Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 launch alongside a torrent of next-gen games. There will be new cross-generation games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, exclusives like Astro’s Playroom and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and of course a lot of re-releases of next-gen optimized classics.

Tuesday – November 10th

• Ark: Survival Evolved for Xbox Series X
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X
• Borderlands 3 for Xbox Series X
• Dead by Daylight for Xbox Series X
• Destiny 2: Beyond Light for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
• Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition for Xbox Series X
• DiRT 5 for Xbox Series X
• Enlisted for Xbox Series X
• Evergate for Xbox One, Xbox Series X
• The Falconeer for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
• Fortnite for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
• Forza Horizon 4 for Xbox Series X
• Fuser for Xbox Series X
• Gears 5 for Xbox Series X
• Gears Tactics for Xbox One, Xbox Series X
• Ghostrunner for Nintendo Switch
• Manifold Garden for Xbox Series X
• Maneater for Xbox Series X
• NBA 2K21 for Xbox Series X
• No Man's Sky for Xbox Series X
• Observer: System Redux for PC, Xbox Series X
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps for Xbox Series X
• Planet Coaster: Console Edition for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X
• Rogue Company for Xbox Series X
• Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
• Sea of Thieves for Xbox Series X
• Spacelords for Xbox Series X
• Tetris Effect: Connected for Xbox One, Xbox Series X
• Warhammer: Chaosbane for Xbox Series X
• Watch Dogs: Legion for Xbox Series X
• XIII for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X

Thursday – November 12th

• Assassin's Creed Valhalla for PlayStation 5
• Astro's Playroom for PlayStation 5
• Borderlands 3 for PlayStation 5
• Bugsnax for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
• Death Come True for PlayStation 4
• Demon's Souls Remake for PlayStation 5
• Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition for PlayStation 5
• DiRT 5 for PlayStation 5
• Fortnite for PlayStation 5
• Godfall for PC, PlayStation 5
• Maneater for PlayStation 5
• NBA 2K21 for PlayStation 5
• No Man's Sky for PlayStation 5
• Observer: System Redux for PlayStation 5
• Overcooked: All You Can Eat for PlayStation 5
• The Pathless for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, iOS
• Planet Coaster: Console Edition for PlayStation 5
• Just Dance 2021 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
• Spacelords for PlayStation 5
• Spider-Man: Miles Morales for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
• Spider-Man: Remastered for PlayStation 5
• Warhammer: Chaosbane for PlayStation 5
• Watch Dogs: Legion for PlayStation 5
• WRC 9 for PlayStation 5

Friday – November 13th

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5
• Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered for Nintendo Switch

Microsoft ‘in talks’ with Japanese studios

Microsoft is still hungering for development talent, and according to Bloomberg they are now looking at Japanese studios.

Japan is still one of the biggest videogame markets in the world, and home to many of the finest studios in the industry. Microsoft has historically struggled to gain a foothold in Japan, where domestic companies like Sony and Nintendo rule the roost, despite collaboration with respected Japanese creators and studios.

Big spender: Microsoft recently dropped a cool $7 billion on ZeniMax Entertainment and their entire studio and intellectual property portfolio in order to bolster their first-party line-up and subscription service Xbox Game Pass. It seems likely they will make a similarly big move to attract Japanese gamers to their consoles and services.

Optimistic: Microsoft has been encouraged by a surprising number of Japanese Xbox Series X/S pre-orders, and clearly hope that their new platform strategy can help Xbox get big in Japan once and for all.

4Fun turns the tables on Quincy Crew

Quincy Crew was defeated 3-2 by 4Fun at the Summit 13 Online: Americas Dota 2 competition. Quincy Crew started strongly, but 4Fun defied the odds and managed to turn the game around on the favourites. The victory earned 4Fun $42,000 while the runner-up won $22,000.

Rocket League gets SMUG in latest series

Psyonix has unveiled their plans for Salt Mine Underground and a new focus on one-vs-one drama in Rocket League. The SMUG tournaments will be hosted by casters John “Johnnyboi” MacDonald and Matt “Smellsworth” Ellsworth, and pits top players against content creators in best-of-five matches.

The main event will feature the top one-vs-one players in best-of-seven matches competing for a total prize pool of $60,000 for each pair of bi-weekly events.

• Pokémon Metapod sleeping bag coming in April and you can pre-order yours now for ¥35,000
• Take-Two ‘in acquisition talks’ with Codemasters, and Codies have until December 4th to accept the offer
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is coming in the first half of 2021 alongside Gran Turismo 7 according to new ad spot
• Teaser for The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes reveals that the next episode of the horror anthology is coming in 2021
• Sony publishes PS5: The Ultimate FAQ, which covers everything from technology to games

To celebrate the start of a new generation of console gaming we are giving away a new PlayStation 5 to one lucky DailyBits reader. You can find out more about this giveaway on our dedicated page.

Here’s the Giveaway Code for Week 46: 5577

Who directed the Mass Effect trilogy?

ANSWER: Casey Hudson!

It's hard for a single person to make an outsize contribution to a huge project like Mass Effect, but it's safe to say that the game would have been radically different without Casey Hudson. He started out as a technical artist on games like Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, MDK2 and Neverwinter Nights before directing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

He also directed the Mass Effect trilogy, before leaving BioWare in 2014 to join Microsoft Studios as creative director. Just three years later, he returned to BioWare to become the studio's general manager. Will he return to the Mass Effect series in the future? We sure hope so!

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey.

We hope you've enjoyed today's issue DailyBits! Please feel free to send any feedback over to [email protected]. Thank You!