BioWare confirms Earth DLC for Mass Effect 3

BioWare has officially confirmed the contents of its upcoming Earth DLC for Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer mode.

The free update will net you three maps, three weapons, six classes, 12 modifications and 11 upgrades. A new mission objective will have you escorting VIP’s to an extraction point, too.

The Earth content will be released on July 17 on Xbox 360, PC and everywhere but Europe on PlayStation 3. European PS3 owners will have to wait until July 18, which should give them just enough time to get all their system updates done.

Meanwhile, if you prefer to digest your information in overblown press release form, well, do I have a treat for you:

• Three New Maps – With the fate of the galaxy at stake, Earth’s military efforts have concentrated on three strategic locations. Defend Firebase Rio, home to the N7 training facility, along with Firebase Vancouver and Firebase London in the last stand for mankind.
• New Array of Playable N7 Characters – Step into the boots of the Alliance’s most elite military units with the N7 Demolisher Engineer, N7 Destroyer Soldier, N7 Fury Adept, N7 Sentinel Paladin, N7 Shadow Infiltrator and N7 Slayer Vanguard.
• New Powerful and Unique Weapons – Lay waste to the enemy by unlocking the N7 Piranha Shotgun, N7 Typhoon Assault Rifle and Acolyte Pistol.
• New Powerful Upgrades – Outfit your weapons with 12 new modifications and fortify your gear with 11 unique upgrades to defeat even the toughest foes.
• New “Platinum” Difficulty – Conquer bronze in your sleep? Take down Silver with one hand? Beat Gold without breaking a sweat? Then grab your friends and test your skills on the brand-new Platinum difficulty.
• New In-Mission Objective – Randomly occurring during waves 3, 6 and 10, this new objective will challenge teams to keep a targeted agent alive by protecting and escorting them to a designated extraction zone on each map.