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Mass Effect: Andromeda won’t be getting a multiplayer beta – here’s why

After the shuttle crash

Update March 3, 2017: BioWare have apologised for the lack of multiplayer beta for Mass Effect: Andromeda. They’ve also released a short explanation as to why it’s necessary. 

“Sorry we won’t have [a multiplayer beta],” producer Fernando Melo said on Twitter. “I know many were looking forward to it (as were we). Long story but right decision for how close we are to [going] live.”

For now, why not have some fun in our list of the best multiplayer games

It kind of makes sense. After all, what changes could they really make now we’re so close to launch? Many developers use betas as a demo with caveats these days.

“[Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer] has had the most [extensive] user testing we’ve ever done,” added Melo.

So we weren’t left with nothing, he also shared this screen from the character select menu. Oof.

Original Story March 2, 2017: Back in January,Ian S. Frazier, lead designer on Mass Effect: Andromeda, hinted that we were getting a multiplayer beta that month. Then January was gone. Now February has gone. There’s still no beta.

That’s because there isn’t going to be a beta for Mass Effect: Andromeda. Despite there being signups for it, EA are instead opting for a small demo at PAX.

“We have one more stop on the road to Andromeda. We’re heading to PAX East, from March 10-12, to give you a chance to play Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer,” says the announcement.

“While we will have live multiplayer at PAX East, there will no longer be a multiplayer tech test for players at home. Thank you to everyone who signed up. We look forward to seeing you in Andromeda.”

This announcement is likely to annoy fans who were hoping to try the game out before launch. Still, hopefully they’ll get a chance to do that by subbing to Origin Access and taking advantage of the ten-hour trial… Unless that gets cancelled.