BioWare has remastered its beloved science fiction epic with the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. The first game in the series came out way back in 2007, originally an exclusive for the Xbox 360. The original trilogy culminated with Mass Effect 3 in 2012. The Legendary Edition is revamping the entire saga – upgrading every texture to be presentable in 4K, including every piece of DLC (except one), providing players with a new, universal character creator, and much more. Many fans are looking forward to revisiting the world of Mass Effect, and newcomers are eager to jump in for the first time, but will PlayStation 5 owners be able to play it on their new hardware?

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Yes, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition can be played on PS5, but only through backwards compatibility. The game does not have a dedicated PS5 and Xbox Series X version, and is optimized for last-gen consoles. The decision to restrict the Legendary Edition to the PS4 generation reportedly comes as a consequence of the game’s engine. The original trilogy runs on Unreal Engine 3, and it would have been too much work for the Legendary Edition development team to remake the entire trilogy on a new version.

It’s unfortunate that an upgraded version won’t be available for the new consoles, but not entirely surprising. New console generations are usually met with plenty of cross-gen titles, and the old hardware typically holds back game design in some way. Playing Mass Effect: Legendary Edition on a PS5 will still be a better experience, though. The SSD will keep load times to a minimum (although the first Mass Effect‘s elevator rides remain), and the PS5 will be able to maintain a more desirable frame rate at higher resolutions.

When Mass Effect Will Come to the PlayStation 5

Although Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will be playable on the PS5, it’s clear that it won’t truly be a current-gen experience. In addition to not being tailor-made for the new hardware, the Legendary Edition also won’t take advantage of the DualSense controller’s special features. PlayStation 5 owners will have to wait for the untitled Mass Effect sequel to get a true modern entry to the series.

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Details on the next Mass Effect are scarce, but some of the original’s developers are returning to BioWare for the project, which is a good sign after the disappointment of Andromeda. There has been no word on the new Mass Effect aside from the announcement trailer from last year’s Game Awards, but it’s confirmed to be in development for the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and will bring back beloved characters from the original Mass Effect trilogy like Liara T’Soni.

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Kyle Gratton
(878 Articles Published)

A passion for video games was instilled at a young age when Kyle Gratton and his older brother were gifted a Nintendo 64 with Ocarina of Time and Mario Kart. Graduating from the University of Kansas as an English and History major, with a minor in Film, Kyle enjoys discussing literature, movies, television, and especially video games. He currently writes features and reviews for Screen Rant’s games section, and dabbles in short fiction occasionally. He can be found on Twitter @KyleGratton.

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