'Mass Effect: Andromeda' comes out in March. Here's what we know

Mass Effect: Andromeda has a release date, and it's sooner than you probably thought.

The next chapter in BioWare's space-faring RPG series kicks off in North America on March 21, and in Europe on March 23. The dates were confirmed in a new blog post from the studio's general manager, Aaryn Flynn.

The North American date had been the subject of a rumor back in November 2016. Gaming Twitter mainstay Wario64 spotted an Xbox One download code card for the game that noted it would be "playable" on March 21, 2017.

Andromeda was once expected to launch in 2016, but BioWare pushed it back (as it has with earlier Mass Effect and Dragon Age games) to give the team more time to finish. The game is playable enough at this point that developers were able to take it home for the holidays, according to Flynn.

"Coming back from holiday, the feedback has been great," he wrote. "Getting the endorsement from members of our studio, many of whom played key roles on the original trilogy, was definitely a key factor in helping us lock in on the date."

It's worth noting that while BioWare has shown clips of the game in action, almost no one outside the studio has actually played it. Plenty of videos have been released and Game Informer got an exclusive peek for a cover story, but that's all.

Still, we do know a fair amount about what BioWare has in store for Mass Effect fans in Andromeda. Here's a brief rundown.

New story, new galaxy

Not long before the events of the original Mass Effect trilogy, the various beings of the Milky Way galaxy got together to form the Andromeda Initiative. Their goal? Get out into the stars and establish a presence in the nearby Andromeda galaxy.

Players assume the role of Sarah or Scott Riley. Riley leads a crew of soldier-explorers into this new frontier... and that is presumably where the Andromeda adventure begins.

The new game's story also ties into a multiplayer mode similar to Mass Effect 3's "Galaxy at War" in the sense that online play ties to the solo play-only story in some fashion.

It's not clear how integral that tie is (in ME3, multiplayer progress directly affected the game's ending). But we do know it's no longer a separate mode. As Riley, players will have the option of sending team members out on missions that they can then leap into for online play.

There's supposed to be some kind of multiplayer beta ahead of the game's release, but BioWare's release date announcement makes no mention of it. Mashable has reached out for clarification.

Refined gameplay

What we've seen of Mass Effect: Andromeda looks fundamentally the same as earlier releases in the series from a gameplay perspective. That is to say, there's third-person exploration and action, with an emphasis on forging your own path through the story.

Almost everything we do know about gameplay tweaks comes from Game Informer's look. The changes are subtle, but promise to make for a smoother experience in and out of combat.

Timers replace cool-downs, abilities are assigned to hotkeys (so long, cumbersome radial menu!), and taking cover is a dynamic action. If you sprint up to a waist high chunk of rock during a firefight, Riley will automatically hunker down to get out of harm's way.

An even bigger change: Andromeda does away with character classes. You can level up however you like, combining abilities in ways that haven't previously been possible.

This Mass Effect also brings back vehicular exploration in the form of the Nomad. This customizable rover is no good in a fight, but it'll help you cross great distances in the new game's larger spaces.

Dialogue choices still matter in Andromeda, but there's no handy Paragon/Renegade system to quantify how "good" or "bad" you are. Choices and their rippling effects are integrated more organically now. Dragon Age: Inquisition's handling of choices and how they shaped the story is probably a good example to look to here.

That's all great, but how does it look?

The one thing we have in abundance when it comes to Mass Effect: Andromeda is trailers. Trailers on trailers, with more to come at CES 2017. Watch all the bits and pieces right here.