Hotly-anticipated exclusive action-RPG could be out by July, if the hints of Bioware boss prove correct. Speaking at GDC in San Francisco, the big cheese of the much-celebrated developer revealed that the game might be on shelves prior to the re-aligned E3 expo in July.

"That event is in July, right?" Muzyka asked website IGN. "Well, Mass Effect won't appear at this year's E3." At least, we hope by this extract he means the game will be ready for public release before the show - else something has gone seriously awry with Mass Effect, and the developer simply can't show the game at the show. Still, with likely to have games such as 3 and Bioshock backing their system at E3, our money's on the game being out by then, hence Muzyka's date checking.

The game is looking rather ace at the GDC, anyway, and coupled with a build-up of marketing activity it looks like we could be entering the world of Mass Effect in the not too distant future. Which is a very good thing indeed...

By Luke Guttridge