“Mass Effect Extended Cut,” released Tuesday, includes some data hidden by BioWare within the game’s files that connects to a new DLC pack.
“Mass Effect Extended Cut,” released Tuesday, includes some data hidden by BioWare within the game’s files that connects to a new DLC pack. Bioware

BioWare has rolled out a few DLC packs for Mass Effect 3 since its debut in March, most of which center on multiplayer gameplay. Apart from the Extended Cut DLC, which included cinematic cut scenes that expand on the game's controversial ending, each expansion pack has been multiplayer only.

A new single-player DLC for ME3?

According to Joystiq, producer Mike Gamble is looking to change that with forthcoming Mass Effect 3 DLC releases.

We want to do single-player DLC, he said to the AOL-owned gaming news publication. We want to do single-player, maybe more multiplayer if people still play it.

This alleged single-player DLC would focus still focus on Commander Shephard, as opposed to making another character in the Mass Effect universe the protagonist.

'Mass Effect 3' is Shephard's story, Gamble said. So the single-player DLC for 'Mass Effect 3' will probably focus around Shephard.

The 'Earth' Multiplayer DLC: A Breakdown

The latest Mass Effect 3 Earth DLC has just rolled out on Xbox LIVE Tuesday, July 17 and includes new multiplayer maps, weapons and classes. The version for PC players and PlayStation 3 consoles will also be launched later in the day. Here's a breakdown of the new additions gamers will experience in the multiplayer expansion.

Classes: N7 Fury Adept, N7 Destroyer Soldier, N7 Demolisher Engineer, N7 Paladin Sentinel, N7 Shadow Infiltrator and N7 Slayer Vanguard.

Maps: The three maps included the Earth DLC will be set in Firebase Rio, Vancouver and London.

Weapons: Typhoon light machine gun, Piranha assault shotgun and Acolyte pistol.

Spoilers for leaked 'Leviathan' DLC

However, it seems as if BioWare has already planned for its next DLC, Leviathan as a leak in the files for the Extended Cut add-on revealed. It is unclear whether or not this will be the alleged single-play DLC that Gamble mentioned, but it has been confirmed that Leviathan is in production. Earlier in July, voice actor Anthony Skordi confirmed that he will be playing the role of the Reaper Leviathan in the add-on which has yet to be officially unveiled.

New spoilers from Eurogamer indicate that this expansion will take place before the ending of Mass Effect 3, and will focus on the rogue Reaper. Leviathan has been ostracized from the rest of the antagonist race for killing one of his own kind. Shephard encounters this Reaper, played by Skordi, after being sent to rescue scientist Ann Brynson, who is being held at the Reaper-indoctrinated mining facility controlled by Leviathan.

This add-on could potentially reveal more insight into the history of the violent and vicious alien race that players have been facing throughout the entire series. As pointed out by Eurogamer, this was alluded to in the ending of Mass Effect 3.

So the Reapers did not fully exterminate their creators, one line of dialogue says. That suggests they are fallible, even on a large or long-term scales.

It has been speculated that Leviathan will join Shephard's fight against the Reapers, possibly becoming a War Asset. Could this be the single-player DLC that Gamble said is in the works? It's possible, but he did say that the main focus would be on Shephard, not a different character. Since the expansion is named after a Reaper, it does seem that the plot will more emphasis on Leviathan.

However, perhaps players will see a different side of Shephard's story intertwined into a Reapers-based plot. A screenshot that surfaced from Comic Con shown at an EA panel displays some sort of planet surface. The location is unspecified, but there is a blue hue to the background and a glowing pocket of reddish light from one corner. This could be linked to the Leviathan DLC, but there still has yet to be any official word on BioWare's next step in the franchise.