The anticipation forMass Effect: Legendary Editionis rapidly mounting after today’s announcement of the game’s May 14 release date, but there’s one thing missing from the massive compilation of content:Pinnacle Station. The DLC, which released as an add-on to the originalMass Effect, is not going to be part of theLegendary Editionwhen it releases.
Mass Effect: Legendary Editionis a remaster of the much-loved trilogy, optimized for current-generation technology and including all single-player base content, as well as over 40 pieces of DLC.Pinnacle Stationwas the second piece of DLCadded toMass Effect, but during development of theLegendary Edition, BioWare made the tough call to exclude it from the game.
RELATED:Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Has Extended Cut Ending
Back in the day,Pinnacle Stationserved as an exciting way to hone combat skills aboard a top-secret Alliance space station, including 13 combat scenarios and a whole new location to explore. It would’ve made a nice additionto theLegendary Edition, but BioWare hit a roadblock during development: developers were unable to get a hold of the source code for the DLC. Game director Mac Walters told Game Informer about the ordeal, explaining that another studio, Demiurge, actually madePinnacle Station, and when BioWare tried to recover the code, its data was almost entirely corrupted - even vital links were missing. Walters elaborated, saying that to includePinnacle Stationin theLegendary Edition, the studio would’ve essentially had to build it from scratch all over again, adding roughly six months to the development process.
Given all that, it seems like the exclusion ofPinnacle Stationwas more or less beyond BioWare’s control. The decision was a difficult one, but delaying the release of theLegendary Editionover non-essential DLC ultimately doesn’t make sense. Despite hopes that theLegendary Editionwould include all DLC, fans will have to content themselves with the 40+ DLC that will be included, and really, that should be enough.Pinnacle Stationisn’t the only piece of content left on the cutting room floor, either. BioWare also decided tocutMass Effect 3’s multiplayerelement, deeming it too complicated to add to the remaster.
Despite the loss ofPinnacle Station, it is not considered an “essential” DLC by a long shot, unlike other pieces of DLC included in theMass Effectremastersuch asCitadelandLeviathan, or squad members Kasumi and Zaeed inMass Effect 2. It’s a small loss to get the game that much sooner, and fans will likely understand why the decision had to be made.
Mass Effect: Legendary Editionlaunches May 14 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
MORE:Here’s Why Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Isn’t Coming to PS5 or Xbox Series X
