Mass Effect is a science fiction media franchise created by Preston Watamaniuk, Drew Karpyshyn and Casey Hudson and owned by Electronic Arts. The Mass Effect original trilogy takes place in a fictional version of the Milky Way towards the end of the 22nd century. In 2148, humanity discovered an alien outpost on Mars, and learn that Charon is actually an alien artifact known as a "mass relay" that enables faster-than-light travel to other mass relays located across the galaxy. Humanity comes into contact with numerous other space-faring alien species, some far more advanced than humans. The center of the Council's governing power is the Citadel, another artifact and a massive space station that, like the mass relays, were made by a race known as the Protheans believed to be the progenitor race for all species but long since disappeared. Over the next few decades, humanity is given access to new technology, allowing them to colonize new planets, and they are made part of the Citadel Security (C-Sec) forces, a highly regarded position that other species had been long waiting for and take resentment over.

While various features of gameplay varied across the series, the Mass Effect games are action role-playing games. The player customizes their version of the game's main character (Shepard for the first three games, and Ryder for Mass Effect: Andromeda) based on physical appearance, background, and one of six character classes, each class centered around one or two specializations in combat, technology, or "biotic" (magic-like) skills. This establishes a skill tree that the player can advance through as their character gains experience levels through completing missions. Each game generally follows a main story pathway with points of branching narratives and multiple side missions, allowing the player to proceed through the game as they desire. Both story and optional mission most often involve using their ship to travel via the mass relay to remote star systems and explore planets to find target objectives. When exploring planets, the player has the option to bring up to two of their crew members with them, who generally act autonomously but can be given specific orders by the player. In missions, the player can explore an area to find information, discover lootable objects with new gear or in-game currency, non-playable characters to talk to, and key mission items that are to be recovered. Frequently, the player will enter combat, which plays out as a third-person shooter, with the player and their allies using a combination of their weapons and combat, tech, and biotic powers along with tactic use of the environment to defeat opponents.

Microbadges

November 7 or "N7 Day" is an annual "worldwide celebration" of the Mass Effect franchise.

	Film	Publisher	Description
	Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (2012)	Funimation Entertainment / T.O Entertainment	An anime film adaptation based on the series. It serves as the prequel to Mass Effect 3 and follows the early career of Alliance Marine James Vega as he leads an elite Special Forces squad into battle against The Collectors during the events of Mass Effect 2. Stationed at a colony in a remote star system, Vega and his soldiers must protect the civilians from a ruthless invasion by the Collectors, determined to capture the population for unknown purposes.
	Mass Effect (TBA)	Legendary Pictures / Warner Bros.
	Novel	Author	Description
	Mass Effect: Revelation (2007)	Drew Karpyshyn	The first novel based on Mass Effect, the plot is centred around then-Lieutenant David Anderson and tells the story of how he came to know Saren as well as the beginning of his relationship with Kahlee Sanders. It expands on the history of the Mass Effect universe and reveals in detail how Anderson failed to become the first human Spectre.
	Mass Effect: Ascension (2008)	Drew Karpyshyn	The second novel based on Mass Effect, the plot centres around protagonist Paul Grayson, a member of Cerberus, who is in charge of raising a biotic girl named Gillian. It is set some two months after the ending events of the first game.
	Mass Effect: Retribution (2010)	Drew Karpyshyn	A sequel to Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect: Ascension.
	Mass Effect: Deception (2012)	William C. Dietz	It centers on Gillian Grayson. Response to the novel had been largely negative due to inconsistencies with lore and characterization, prompting fans to petition BioWare to disregard the novel as canon. In response, BioWare and Del Rey announced that a number of changes would be made in future editions.
	Mass Effect: Nexus Uprising (2017)	Jason M. Hough and K. C. Alexander	The novel is the first of three intended to weave directly into Mass Effect: Andromeda, taking place "concurrently with the adventure of the game itself".
	Mass Effect: Initiation (2017)	N.K. Jemisin and Mac Walters	The second novel in the Mass Effect: Andromeda book trilogy.
	Mass Effect: Annihilation (2018)	Catherynne M. Valente	The third and final novel in the Mass Effect: Andromeda book trilogy.
	Comic	Author	Description
	Mass Effect: Redemption (2010)		A four-part comic book mini-series. The story, which revolves around Liara T'Soni, is set in the interim period between the prologue and main storyline of Mass Effect 2, and is related to the downloadable content "Lair of the Shadow Broker".
	Mass Effect: Incursion (2010)		An on-line comic (8 pages) that follows Aria T'Loak's encounter with the Collectors one week prior to the opening events of Mass Effect 2. The events of Incursion link into the events of the comic miniseries Mass Effect: Redemption.
	Mass Effect: Inquisition (2010)	Mac Walters	An on-line comic (8 pages). Taking place after Mass Effect 2, the plot follows Captain Armando-Owen Bailey during his investigation of Executor Venari Pallin and corruption within C-Sec.
	Mass Effect: Evolution (2011)		A four-part comic book mini-series. The story focuses on the origin of the Illusive Man and is set during the First Contact War, shortly after the discovery of the Mass Relays.
	Mass Effect: Conviction (2011)	Mac Walters	A free short (10 page) single issue mini-comic. Taking place before Mass Effect 3, the plot follows Lieutenant James Vega during his stay on Omega before returning to Systems Alliance service.
	Mass Effect: Invasion (2011)		A 4 issue comic book series. It follows Aria T'Loak, the pirate queen of the space station Omega, as her station comes under attack from a new threat unleashed by Cerberus, the human survivalist organization.
	Mass Effect: Homeworlds (2012)	Mac Walters	A 4 issue comic book series. Each issue focuses on a main character from the Mass Effect series.
	Mass Effect: Blasto: Eternity Is Forever (2012)	Mac Walters	A 14-page single-issue. The main character is Blasto, the protagonist of several in-universe films, depicted as the galaxy's first Hanar Spectre.
	Mass Effect: He Who Laughs Best (2013)	Mac Walters	A short (10 page) single issue mini-comic. It explains how Jeff "Joker" Moreau became the SSV Normandy's pilot prior to the events of Mass Effect.
	Mass Effect: Foundation (2013)	Mac Walters	A 13-issue comic series. It features a story that runs parallel to the game trilogy and is designed to expand the universe as a whole.
	Mass Effect: Discovery (2017)	Jeremy Barlow	A 4 issue comic book series. Each issue focuses on the Andromeda Initiative from the Mass Effect series.
	Other	Type	Description
	Mass Effect: New Earth (2016)	Ride	A 4D holographic experience introduced at California's Great America amusement park.

Alien blood colors: The red, yellow, blue, green, and purple alien blood seen in-game exists in-real life:

• Red - Most vertebrates. The color is due to the presence of iron.
• Yellow - Beetles, sea squirts and cucumbers. Their blood contains high concentrations of vanabin, which contain vanadium that gives the blood its color. Vanabin does not transport oxygen and its purpose is still a mystery.
• Green - Most annelids (worms/leeches) and select lizard species. The color is due to the presence of a chemical called chlorocruorin. For certain lizards the color is due to high concentrations of bile that would be lethal in most other lifeforms.
• Blue - Crustaceans, octopus/squid, and mollusk. The color is due to the presence of copper.
• Purple - Brachiopods and select marine worms. The color is caused by the protein hemerythrin used to transport oxygen.

Asari Reproduction:

Asari reproduce is similar to Bdelloidea, a class of female only rotifers found in freshwater habitats all over the world. They are often referred to as "ancient asexuals" because they rely exclusively on parthenogenetic reproduction - development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell.

Extra Krogan organs:

Many animals have "extra" organs, like squid's three hearts or the three jaws and 32 brains (physiologically; not anatomically) of a leech.

Levo vs Dextro:

Molecules based on carbon atoms can have up to four atoms attached to a central carbon. If you imagine this as a tetrahedron (d4, if you're a tabletop gamer) then you'll notice that you can actually arrange those four atoms in two different ways that cannot be reconciled by rotating the molecule. If they're arranged one way, it's (arbitrarily) named a levo- or left-handed molecule. If it's arranged the other way, it's a dextro- (right handed) molecule. Enzymes are built to attach to specific molecular geometries, and if they don't match the molecule, they don't work. So imagine if you will an enzyme that is designed to break a protein down into its constituent amino acids, so they can be re-used to build bodily proteins. This protease is shaped to grab onto L-amino acids and ignore everything else. When confronted by a D-amino acid, it quite simply won't grab on, which means the protein doesn't get digested, and is quite useless to the organism.

Out of the major food molecules, protein and carbohydrates exhibit chirality, fats do in triglyceride (but not free fatty acid) form. Minor food molecules such as volatile flavor compounds and vitamins vary based on the particular molecules. Interestingly, ethanol is non-chiral, so Tali's need for Turian brandy is a curious case, and is either a case of the writers not being biochemists, or the possibility that Quarians and Turians do not have ethanol dehydrogenase, an enzyme to break down ethanol, and instead rely on some other form of alcohol for intoxication.