BioWare defends Mass Effect 3 ending, welcomes feedback for DLC

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“I didn't want the game to be forgettable,” says Casey Hudson

The final moments of Mass Effect 3 aren't sitting well with some fans, but according to director Casey Hudson, stirring up controversy was part of BioWare's mission all along.

"I didn't want the game to be forgettable. Even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have had with people - debating what the endings mean and what's going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in," he explained in an interview to Digital Trends, adding, "That to me is part of what's exciting about this story. There has always been a little bit of mystery there and a little bit of interpretation, and it's a story that people can talk about after the fact."

The comments are in response to a vocal group of Mass Effect 3 followers who have taken BioWare to task over an ending they believe provides little closure and falls short in honoring the player's choices. Some fans have even gone so far as to set up an online petition demanding an alternate ending for the Mass Effect Trilogy that offers long-time players a “more complete explanation of the story events” and “a heroic ending which provides a better sense of accomplishments”.

Hudson gave no indication BioWare is even considering a rewrite, but did say future DLC would be governed by fan feedback, explaining, “It’s very important to us and we will always listen to feedback, interpret it and try and do the right thing by our fans…We have some really great multiplayer content and some really great single-player content coming over the air, and their feedback will become part of how we design that.”

Addressing other issues, Hudson noted he's happy to see common sense prevailing in the From Ashes DLC controversy, and equally pleased at how fans have reacted to Mass Effect 3's expanded relationship options, adding, “It’s also a learning experience and I think we’ve learned a lot about how people perceive their experiences with our characters and what they wanted out of them. Some of these things that we’ve added or changed about how we view this is in response to things that we’ve learned or feedback that we’ve had from them.”

Where do you stand on the trilogy's final moments? More importantly, does BioWare even owe fans an explanation?

Above: This is one of the endings to the game. SPOILER WARNING. You have been warned.

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Matt Bradford

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.