BioWare caves in: Mass Effect 3 DLC adds new ending scenes

Extended Cut to release for free this summer

BioWare has announced Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a free DLC pack that expands upon the events at the end of the game which caused such a public outcry.

The DLC will add new cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes, providing "more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey", as promised by BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka last month.
Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will be released for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this summer. It will be available free of charge until the offer expires on April 12, 2014.

Muzyka said: "We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by [Mass Effect series executive producer] Casey Hudson and team. Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding.

"With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team's artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe."

Hudson added: "We have reprioritised 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 personalised for each player."

We'd like to think today's news might draw a line under this whole, sometimes unsavoury affair, but that won't happen. It's a bold move on BioWare's part, but whether it's the correct one or not is certainly up for debate. Expanding upon the ending is sure to spark more questions about artistic expression and consumer entitlement than it does deliver answers to fans of the trilogy unhappy with its original ending. What do you think about it all, readers?