Mass Effect 2 hitting Xbox/PC next year, PS3 shunned

With the San Francisco Game Developer’s Conference ready to kick off next week, one in which Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 will be a part of, the developers have officially lift the lid off the sequel to its critically successful sci-fi RPG, Mass Effect. 

While plot details are understandably vague at this time, Bioware CEO Ray Muzyka had this to say about the second game in the planned RPG trilogy:

“We’re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story… 

Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action.”

Scheduled for an early 2010 release, Mass Effect 2 has only been confirmed for the 360 and PC. This may come as a surprise to those who were hoping that, since EA’s buy-out of Bioware, and as such, EA’s tendency to release games for every possible platform out there, the next game in the ME series would land on Sony’s console.  It also didn’t help that EA’s own head honcho, John Riccitiello, was quoted earlier in the year during a conference call as saying only that ME 2 would arrive on “multiple platforms”. 

It seems clear then that Microsoft’s contractual agreement with Bioware (MS published the first game, with EA taking over those duties now) still has a firm control over what platforms they are allowed to make it for.

Source: Shacknews