[Update: Bioware has released a statement regarding the issue. The beta was never supposed to go live and has been subsequently taken down. You can find the full statement after the break]

If you were one of the lucky few who got into the Xbox Live Fall 2011 Update Preview Program then you can now find a “private beta” of Mass Effect 3 on the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Just navigate to the Pre-Release pane on the dashboard and you will find the Mass Effect 3 beta on the far right. The download comes in at 1.81 gigabytes with no other details being provided.

Early reports have pegged the game having three different game modes, including “Story Mode,” “Action Mode” and “RPG Mode.” We’ll post more details as we get them.

Hello everyone!

As most of you know by now, this evening an accidental leak occurred of some early Mass Effect 3 beta code.  Microsoft has advised us that through human error at their end, content which was meant for internal beta testing was flagged incorrectly and released to individuals who had signed up for the beta of the Xbox Live dashboard update.  It has since been taken down and deactivated.

We’d like to stress that the leaked code is in a rough, unfinished state and was not meant for public release. The content is not final, and is not reflective of the quality of the finished, polished game due for release on March 6, 2012 (March 9 in Europe).

One feature that was present in this early build is a set of game play modes that are in development. In the beta code they are referred to as “action mode”, “story mode” and “RPG mode”. We want to stress that these features are still in the early stages of development and will receive considerable iteration and refinement. These modes are designed to give players an even finer degree of control over their game experience than ever before.  Whether it be someone who finds the combat difficult but wants to experience the amazing story, someone who wants to focus on the action and combat game play, or fans who want the rich, story-driven RPG Mass Effect experience they’ve come to love – Mass Effect 3 will support all of these options.  We’ll have more info in the days ahead!

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