Some changes are also in store for RPG heavyweight BioWare and MMO studio Mythic Entertainment. Electronic Arts has announced that the two studios will be restructured into a single group that will handle RPG and MMO games development.

A resume of a former BioWare employee appears to reveal that there is an unannounced AAA project from the AAA company. The former employee held the position of designer until this past April, and carried a job description that clearly hinted at a brand new IP that is not among the titles already announced by BioWare.

Bioware project director Casey Hudson has revealed that while your original Mass Effect squadmates (the ones left alive, that is) will be appearing in Mass Effect 2, none of them will be recruitable. None. More after the jump.

A whole load of info about Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360, PC) has apparently been leaked from an OXM interview with developer Bioware. Since we haven't seen a hard copy yet, let's treat this as a rumor for the time being. Among the details revealed in the OXM feature is confirmation that Commander Shepard is alive and well -- for a goodly chunk of the game anyway. Whether or not Shepard survives until the end is still up in the air. More in the full article.

Electronic Arts is distancing itself even further from the much-maligned SecuROM security software by confirming on the BioWare forums that the PC version of BioWare's upcoming RPG Dragon Age: Origins will not have any SecuROM DRM.

Check out this Mage gameplay trailer for BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins (PC, Xbox 360). You might pick up a thing or two on casting damaging spell attacks, if that's your trip. It's right over at the full article.

BioWare has given a definite confirmation for the fate of Dragon Age: Origins. Yes, the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate will indeed be coming to consoles. More in the full article.

In light of the EA Maxis' Spore going gold, concern once again has hit the PC gaming segment over the definite inclusion of digital rights management (DRM) software with each copy. Many have argued over the integration of SecuROM on executables of The Sims 2 and its expansions, and now that Spore producer Lucy Bradshaw has confirmed Spore will be succeeded by at least one expansion, there's a whole lot of bickering to come for PC gamers. More details at the full story.

Okay, so this actually came about the same time that BioWare officially announced the arrival of Bring Down the Sky for Mass Effect on Windows, but I guess shock takes the better of you after learning some highly anticipated games just got pushed back. This goes out to the folks who probably got out of sync with the beat as well. It's time to update your RPG to the latest. Changes are listed at the full story.

And not a moment too soon, for folks still sour at the presence of SecuROM's digital rights management software might have given up on Mass Effect on the PC entirely. It's a sad thing to think that, especially from a game that oozes a lot of ambition and the right directions. Luckily, the highly-recommended downloadable content was also formatted with the PC gamer in mind, so there might be a degree of redeeming factor involved if you grab it. But before you do, there's a few more things to tackle at the full story.