Mass Effect 3: Omega will be BioWare’s longest, most expensive expansion yet

Mass Effect 3: Omega, the latest downloadable expansion for BioWare's successful science fiction epic, will be out at the end of November alongside the Trilogy and Wii U editions of the game. It will be the longest DLC yet, but it will also be the most expensive.

Mass Effect 3 is getting no shortage of promotion more than six months after its release. The game will get a second run at the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 when EA releases the Mass Effect Trilogy Edition in November, not to mention the release of the Wii U version of the game later that month. People still playing the original release, however, still have more to look forward to as EA detailed the next downloadable campaign to continue Commander Shepard’s adventure. Mass Effect 3: Omega will be out on November. It’s pegged to be bigger than previous entries like Leviathan and From Ashes but it will also be more expensive at $15.

Omega actually ties in with the Dark Horse-published Mass Effect 3: Invasion comic books written by BioWare’s Mac Walters. Shep and the crew team up with crime lord Aria T’loak, the former chief of the Omega space station, as they try to wrestle control of the station back from Cerberus forces.

Speaking at the New York Comic Con (via Eurogamer), producer Mike Gamble said Omega “double the size” of Mass Effect 3’s largest expansion, placing it in the 8-hour range when compared to August’s Leviathan which lasted for around 4 hours. It’s positively massive when compared to From Ashes, which really only added a brief mission to the game, though the additional character and his influence on the story itself was expansive beyond the content itself.

Omega is one more example of how Electronic Arts is using Mass Effect 3 as a test bed for downloadable content scheduling and pricing. EA released the game charging for downloadable content on day one—From Ashes was only included with the limited edition of the retail game—and its supported it with regular multiplayer expansions like Resurgence, Rebellion, and Earth since. It’s difficult to know how EA’s plans for Leviathan and Omega changed in the wake of the company’s decision to release the Extended Cut content for free in May. That content was given away to ameliorate fans’ opinion of the Mass Effect 3’s ending, which proved so divisive that fans actually started charity fundraising events to have it altered.

40 percent of players paid for From Ashes. With another major retail push for the game in the same month, EA will likely find a comparable audience for Omega, despite the higher price tag.