'Mass Effect 3' makers to rewrite 'soul-crushing' ending for furious fans

Fans of "Mass Effect 3" had reason to rejoice Thursday, after the top-selling video game's makers agreed to rewrite its ending -- which has been raising the ire of players worldwide.

While developers BioWare had originally hinted at 16 different endings, gamers soon found that no matter how skilfully they tackled the intergalactic action role-play, there were only three possible endings for the key characters, The (London) Times reported.

All the endings, gamers moaned, were bleak.

Taking their gripe to Facebook, some 50,000 fans campaigned for a better ending for "Mass Effect 3," which has sold 2.4 million copies since its release on March 9.

"It just crushes your soul," campaigner Sebastian Sobczyk told The Times. "It's like if 'Star Wars' ended with the deaths of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia. For the love of God, give us a nice ending."

BioWare heard the gamers' appeals, with the Edmonton-based company's co-founder Ray Muzyka saying, "Our first instinct is to defend our work and point to the high ratings offered by critics -- but out of respect to our fans, we need to accept the criticism and feedback with humility."

In an online post, Muzyka said the disappointment of fans had been "incredibly painful" and as a result the developer would provide "more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey."

BioWare did not specify if the revamped version will be available via an update or a patch. It said it would provide more details next month.