Bioware: ME2 savefile won’t work with Mass Effect 3

This post might be considered by some, as one containing information which might be SPOILER-INFESTED. You have been warned!

Everyone who’s been following Mass Effect 2 must be aware of the fact that one of the game’s ending results in an outcome which sees the death of Shepard along with the crew onboard Normandy. Bioware and some text displayed during the loading screen has hinted at what might be the result of that ending when you start Mass Effect 3.

Now, Producer Casey Hudson has saved everyone the trouble of not being certain about the outcome by giving Game Informer a clear answer on what might happen if Shepard dies at the end of ME2?

“Dead is dead. Mass Effect 3, as with the rest of the trilogy, is Shepard’s story. If you have a dead Shepard at the end of Mass Effect 2, that saved game won’t import into Mass Effect 3. You can play Mass Effect 3 if you died in Mass Effect 2 of course, but you’ll have to create a new Shepard. Harsh? Yes. But we wouldn’t be serious about the concept of a suicide mission if you couldn’t die and your death didn’t have serious consequences.”

What this means is, you will not be able to import your Mass Effect 2 savefile at the start of Mass Effect 3 if you choose to let Shepard die at the end of your game! So, make sure you take that into consideration while completing Mass Effect 2, else you would need to start your Mass Effect 3  game afresh.