We are very pleased to officially announce that the Mass Effect 3 Leviathan single-player DLC will be released on August 28th, 2012 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Please note that on Playstation 3 in Europe, it will be available on August 29th.
To help us celebrate this joyous occasion, we are also releasing a fresh batch of Leviathan wallpapers for you to enjoy. Get 'em here.
From: Admiral Steven Hackett
Re: Operation OLYMPUS
Confidentiality Classification: XB-PRIME
Distribution: N7 Forces Only
Soldiers of the Milky Way '
I am pleased to report that Operation OLYMPUS has netted us extremely valuable intel. With N7 troops engaging the enemy, the Resistance was able to lure a Reaper destroyer into a kill zone and bring it down. They were able to retrieve portions of its memory databases before withdrawing from the battlefield.
While we do not yet know what this new data will reveal, rest assured it will be put to good use. I don't need to tell you that logs from a Reaper's memory could prove invaluable. If we can decipher when and why it received the orders it did, we can start to predict their battle strategies, and that improves our chances both on Earth and throughout the galaxy.
The geth viewed the Reapers as gods, creatures beyond our understanding. We know that's not true. We may not have knocked them off their pedestal today, but we have come one step closer to seeing them fall.
' Admiral Hackett
Quite the amazing rally guys!
Bronze total: 253,408
Silver total: 206,386
Gold total: 89,198
As a reward for such an Olympic effort there's a special something in the pack for you. 
We recently posted an innocent looking piece of fan art on Facebook that was created by one of our community members. The image playfully mashed up the themes of Mass Effect and My Little Pony, depicting the Pinkie Pie character in N7 armor. We thought it was hilarious and wanted to let the rest of our community in on the fun. Those of you that had front row seats during the aftermath know that's not exactly what happened.
Even though the image was posted in jest, it raised the ire of a portion of our Facebook community. Some fans felt compelled to 'unlike' our page, while others even went as far as to post their intention to 'sell all their Mass Effect games.'
It got me thinking: What exactly is a social media community, and what is its true purpose?
It is my belief that the purpose of a social media community is to create a place where people from all over the world can gather, linked by their shared affection of a particular passion. It sounds almost Utopian, doesn't it? A little corner of the internet reserved just for us where we can go and interact with like-minded fans.
At BioWare, we think of our fans as our extended family, and as within any family, there are bound to be times when we won't always see eye-to-eye. Sometimes Uncle Jay is going to root against your favorite sports team. Sometimes cousin Sue is going to wear socks with sandals. And sometimes, just sometimes, we're going to post pictures of little pink ponies sworn to protect the galaxy from Reapers.
We support our community's desire to be creative and share with us. Our talented fans send us all types of content, from painstakingly detailed fan art and cosplay photos to music and poetry inspired by our games. We try to showcase as many of them as we can, and hope that the community will find it all as fascinating as we do.
We strive to provide a community that offers a little something for everyone, and as such, new content is always being gathered for future posts. We take the work that we do very seriously, but we also believe that a good sense of humor is healthy. Doesn't everyone enjoy a good laugh?
If you don't enjoy a particular post, that's okay. You can't please everyone, as they say. However, rather than become hostile and turn against the community, we have an alternate suggestion: Create something better. Instead of raving about what you don't like, show us an example of something that appeals to you.
Remember, it's your feedback that helps to shape the community, but you're always going to catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Be good to one another.
~ David Hulegaard, Social Media Coordinator
Hey everyone!
Community Manager Jessica Merizan here to wax nostalgic and talk about this year's Geek Girl Con! There's something really special about Geek Girl Con for me. I attended event's inaugural weekend last year, newly hired to BioWare, meeting the developers that attended for the first time. I was afraid they would all hate me, but they did not! Or at least they've hidden it quite well for the past year 
I'm very proud to say that BioWare's company culture fosters amazing personalities and I learned a lot from hanging out with some of the BioWare women that weekend. They taught me that there is no such thing as the 'female perspective' when it comes to video games because consumers even within the same demographic have such delightfully varied tastes and styles (more on that later). The women who went to Geek Girl Con with me last year, and the ones attending this year, are really brilliant developers who happen to also be women. It's similar to the mindset we take to our characters. Strong, multi-faceted characters who are not solely defined by their gender, race, species, or taste in wheels of cheese.
But enough of me sitting here and feeling pleased about the state of the world. If you're coming to Geek Girl Con this Saturday and Sunday in Seattle, we want to meet you! I'll be joined by the following developers who bring with them quite a bit of moxie:
Karin Weekes (senior editor)
Melanie Fleming (audio/localization external producer)
Mary Kirby (writer)
Kris Schoneberg (level designer)
Raylene Deck (level designer)
Sheryl Chee (writer)
Sarah Hayward (cinematic designer)
We'll be presenting the following panels:
Saturday 3:00 PM ' 3:50 PM
Get Your Game On: Shop Talk with the Ladies of BioWare ' RM303
The 'Designing Women of BioWare' were thrilled and honored to be part of GeekGirlCon '11. They are back this year for more chatting and interaction! Female developers from across BioWare will answer your questions about developing games, how to get a job in game development, and whatever else you'd like to know about.
Presented by Mary Kirby, Raylene Deck, Sarah Hayward, Karin Weekes, Melanie Fleming; Moderated by Jessica Merizan
Sunday 11:30 AM ' 12:20 PM
The Myth of 'The Female Gamer Perspective' ' RM303
We all know that considerably fewer women than men work in game design; those of us that do are often called upon to 'represent the female audience.' At BioWare, we're lucky to have quite a few women working here, and we represent a pretty wide range of backgrounds, tastes, and gaming styles. We certainly don't have a singular gaming perspective.We'd like to talk with you about why there's probably no such thing and how games should be designed accordingly.
Presented by Sheryl Chee, Kris Schoneberg, Melanie Fleming, Sarah Hayward, Jessica Merizan; moderated by Karin Weekes
And when I'm not running around on panels, snapping photos of amazing cosplayers (alas! I have retired my Ashley costume!), and running into friends I only ever see at conventions, I'll be hanging out at the Gaming Lounge with some lovely ladies from EA and Popcap! Come and play your favorite console and PC games. And more importantly, come say 'Hi!' (be sure to tell me your BSN or Twitter handle and what your profile picture is ' I have a strange talent for remembering usernames). Holly Conrad, our resident FemShep and BioWare creature costumer, will also be attending ' see if you can spot her out of costume!
For those of you who are not able to attend, keep an eye on our Facebook / Twitter / Instagram for updates and photos from the event! We always try to bring you a fun Virtual Con experience so everyone can live viciously without ever stepping on a plane.
If you have any questions about this event or have an event in mind that you think we should be at, tweet at me @jessicamerizan and let's chat!
See you at the Con!
Discuss this.
Operation OLYMPUS (August 10th-12th)
Increased Reaper activity has been reported around London. Operation OLYMPUS will focus large-scale strikes on the Reapers to buy the Resistance time to investigate.
Squad Goal: Full extraction from Firebase London using any Kit on any difficulty
Allied Goal: Using any Kit/ Map combination against any enemy, complete wave 10 on a combined community total of 200,000 Bronze missions, 175,000 Silver missions and 70,000 Gold missions.
Special Circumstance: None
Squad Goal Success: All squad members awarded a Commendation Pack
Allied Goal Success: All players awarded a Victory Pack
Requirement: Mass Effect: Earth must be installed
After a thorough sweep of the galaxy, new pipelines within Alliance channels have opened up access to additional firepower to support our efforts. Surviving this war against the Reapers is going to require strength, skill and courage beyond anything you have experienced before, but an added boost to your arsenal may help you tip the scales in our favor once and for all.
Unleash hell with the Firefight Pack! Firefight adds seven weapons for use in the single-player campaign: the Indra and Krysae sniper rifles, Reegar Carbine, Harrier battle rifle, Geth SMG, plus an all-new Blood Pack Punisher SMG and Adas Anti-Synthetic rifle!
Available now on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3! Cost is $2.00 or 160 MS points.
Why are you releasing the Firefight Pack?
Will the Firefight Pack unlock these weapons in multiplayer?
After I buy this pack, when will I have access to the guns?
How much does it cost?
Aren't all of these guns already available in multiplayer?
Mass Effect 3: Leviathan
Today we are pleased to announce a new Story-Driven Single Player DLC for Mass effect 3 ' Leviathan!
Something lurks in the dark corners of space, something powerful enough to kill a Reaper. Shepard must discover the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever. Discover more about the origins of the Reapers as you race across the galaxy to find the Leviathan. Unravel the dark history of the Reaper Race before it is too late. Coming later this summer there is no war, only the harvest.
Taking place during the events of Mass Effect 3, players will be thrust into the darkest corners of space where they will hunt a mysterious being rumored to be powerful enough to destroy a Reaper. As they race against time, they will begin to unravel the secret of the Leviathan. Explore uncharted systems and new areas on the Citadel, interact with brand new characters, unlock the AT-12 Raider shotgun and M-55 Argus Assault Rifle and discover more about the mysterious history of the Reapers. Available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Cost is $10 or 800 Microsoft points.
Firefight Weapons Pack
But that is not all. Players will soon be able to arm themselves with the Firefight Pack, a new Single Player Weapon Pack available for download August 7. Available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Cost is $2 or 160 Microsoft points. The Firefight Pack will feature two powerful new weapons and five bonus weapons to use in the fight to Take Back Earth!
Mass Effect 3 Wii U
BioWare is thrilled to launch our first ever title on a Nintendo console and our Mass Effect team is very proud to have the critically acclaimed Mass Effect 3 experience brought to the Wii U as a launch title.
Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U features a brand new control scheme designed to incorporate the Wiipad. It will also feature bonus DLC including the Extended Cut, an Interactive back story covering previous events in the Mass Effect universe, and Mass Effect 3's critically acclaimed Multiplayer experience.
