Mass Effect Legendary Edition looks like a lavish package that restores much of the spirit and content of BioWare’s beloved trilogy, except for one single-player DLC that is missing.
Pinnacle Station, an add-on that brought a small pivot and combat simulator to Mass Effect 1, was not included.
If you are familiar with the story of the inclusion of this DLC in other versions of the game, you may know what’s coming – but if not, BioWare has now confirmed why.
Pinnacle Station was skipped when the original Mass Effect was later released on PlayStation 3, about five years after it originally arrived on Xbox 360.
At that point, BioWare acknowledged that source code corrupted and could no longer be worked on. This is unfortunately still the case, and despite BioWare’s new efforts to revive the add-on.
Legendary Edition project director Mac Walters told Game Informer that the attempt to remaster Pinnacle Station “was an emotional rollercoaster” after contacting the original external developer.
Unlike most Mass Effect DLC, Pinnacle Station was built by another company: Demiurge Studios, a small outpost from Massachusetts, about 14 years later.
BioWare managed to contact Demiurge to get copies of the original Pinnacle Station files – which Demiurge could get – but it was also found to be corrupt. Re-creating the addition from scratch was also out of the question.
“It would basically take us another full six months just to do that with most of the team we have,” Walters told Game Informer. “I wish we could do it. Honestly, just because it’s meant to be everything the team ever created, brought back together – all the single – player content. And so, and leave it all on the cutting room floor heartbreaking . ‘
For more information on Mass Effect Legendary Edition, including the Legendary Cache and our questions to Walters about returning to the franchise, many of whom feared they could not continue, read our cover on everything included in the package.