Secret Mars Rover revealed by Mass Effect 3 developer nearly a decade later

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The developer lifted the secret on the long-dormant easter egg

Mass Effect 3
(Image credit: EA)

A long-hidden Mass Effect 3 easter egg has now been solved thanks to its creator lifting the veil on the methods to unlock it. 

In a reddit thread (via Kotaku) started by former Bioware developer Richard Boisvert, he took to the Mass Effect community to reveal the secret he’d been sitting on since the release of Mass Effect 3 in 2012.

Boisvert wrote: “10 years ago I put an easter egg in the mars mission of ME3, and as far as I know no one ever stumbled upon it.”

He then told players how they could see this playout. “At the beginning of the mars mission, feel free to walk through the nearby solar panel array in the following way to see it.”

mass effect 3

(Image credit: Richard Boisvert)

Unsurprisingly players rushed to catch a glimpse to see how this plays out. User Tuskin38 confirmed that this method worked and added a description of what happens when you do follow the path. They explained: “There's a little rover over behind some rocks, when you walk that path, it drives over to the edge of the cliff, looks up and nods at you.” 

You can see photos of the interaction here.

Players have been aware of a ‘Mars Rover’ easter egg in Mass Effect 3 for over a year, though it has never been through fair means. The model had previously been uncovered by user Marcus_Khaar who used a free camera exploit that allowed them to catch a glimpse of the rover without walking the path. 

However, it’s great to see the official means of seeing this inquisitive little robot interact with the player. 

Easter Eggs are always fascinating to find in games, and that is doubly true of older games. Just this year, a long-dormant easter egg showing a cordyceps-infected ant was found in The Last of Us Prologue. Instances like this speak to the tantalizing idea that there are lots of hidden surprises to be found in our favorite games years, maybe even decades after they were released. Perhaps as classics get older, we will see more instances of developers lifting the lid on these fun little surprises. 

Into Mass Effect but want more? Check out our list of games that will help scratch that itch.

Patrick Dane
Freelance writer

Patrick Dane is the former Guides Editor at TechRadar. He is now a freelance games journalist writing for sites and publications such as GamesRadar, Metro, IGN, Eurogamer, PC Gamer, and the International Business Times, among others. He was also once the Managing Editor for Bleeding Cool.