There’s a sizable update for Mass Effect: Andromeda out today, at least if you’re an Xbox owner. The much-maligned fourth entry in Bioware’s space adventures officially gained 4K support if you’re playing on Xbox One X. This comes on November 7th, a day celebrated by Mass Effect fans as N7 Day. The update was officially announced in a video on BioWare’s Twitter feed by lead producer Mike Gamble. The 1.68GB patch adds HDR lighting and a higher resolution to the Xbox version of the game.
It’s worth noting that the PlayStation 4 version of Mass Effect Andromeda already featured a lot of these upgrades. A standard PS4 can run the game with HDR, and the Ultra HD resolution runs on a PlayStation 4 Pro. A higher scale PC will also run the game on 4K via Origin, but HDR is less common among PC monitors. This patch brings both console versions of the game on par with each other assuming you have the right hardware.
https://twitter.com/bioware/status/1060200634698223616
At the end of the tweeted video, Casey Hudson leaves the door open for future Mass Effect iterations. BioWare is currently working on Anthem, a third-person shooter in the vein of Destiny that’s due out in early 2019. This lines up with an update this summer that hinted at future titles for both Mass Effect and Dragon Age after Anthem‘s release.
The first game in the franchise to move on from Commander Shepard, Andromeda had you exploring the outer ring of the Mass Effect universe. As Ryder, you fight the Kett as you try to discover a new home for the human race to settle. While the game suffered from massive technical issues around launch, patches have softened the impact of these issues. Now, with a fancy new resolution, perhaps fans will feel inspired to head back to the Andromeda for another go round.
