Mass Effect 3: Take Earth Back Surprises Fans With Official New Game Release

BioWare's sudden closure was heartbreaking for a number of reasons: talented developers got laid off, the studio's stumbles were preventable, and EA clearly did not understand the potential of its own franchises. For fans who adventured with Commander Shepard across three games, the biggest tragedy was a simple one. Without BioWare, there wouldn't be any new Mass Effect games. If the franchise is supposed to be dead, though, fans didn't get the memo — and Mass Effect 3's mod Take Earth Back proves it.

The name might sound familiar to old-time Mass Effect 3 fans who experienced BioWare's seminal RPG trilogy on PC. The original version of the game-transforming mod came out in 2021. Five years later, the mod developers are back with a totally revamped version of Take Earth Back that fixes many of the original game's biggest problems — and includes some must-see features that weren't possible before.

The mod's biggest priority is to accurately reflect Mass Effect 3's goal of collecting as many allies as possible before the Reaper invasion. In the original game, players spent all this time getting ready for the big showdown, only to feel underwhelmed after the epic nature of Mass Effect 2's Suicide Mission. Fans got to the final mission in Mass Effect 3 and were disappointed to see that individual forces couldn't be assigned specific tasks. Strangely, many important allies were seemingly MIA during the final battle. The scale of the mission was reduced to the actions of Shepard's three-person squad. Adding insult to injury, fans later discovered that critical recorded voice lines had been left unused.

What does Take Earth Back add to Mass Effect 3?

Take Earth Back 2.0 introduces 28 War Assets, from Asari Commandos to the Shadowbroker's squad, which can all be given specific tasks. The assignments ultimately affect the difficulty of the battle, but not the outcome per se — that is still determined by your overall War Asset score. The addition of cutscenes with specific forces, new events, and even some mid-fight interactive sequences added by the mod are important, however, as they help sell the idea that this is a cross-galaxy effort. Many of these War Assets go on to die, but that's exactly what makes their addition meaningful.

The original Take Earth Back won Mod of the Year on Nexus Mods in 2021 — and the 2026 version revamps nearly everything. Without budget or time constraints, Take Earth Back 2.0 feels like a much-needed sendoff for the series. That's especially welcome now after BioWare's closure.

Fans seem astounded, judging by the comments on the mod's YouTube trailer.

"It's incredible to see mods turning that battle into the fight we all dreamed of," one viewer wrote. "So many years later, it finally sees its potential."

"I'll never be able to play these games for the first time again, but this is like the next best thing," another wrote.

You can check out the mod here.