Mass Effect 3 ending ruined

A document containing the entire plot to the third and final Mass Effect game has been leaked online. The script was posted on the Russian Bioware forums, following an accidental leak of the game's beta code over the weekend.

Originally the post's authenticity was met with some speculation, but Bioware has since confirmed that the leak is genuine. However, the company stressed that the leaked document was not the final draft of the story.

“We are still investigating, but it appears that some internal story files have been leaked,” a Bioware representative posted on the forum. “Even though the information in those files is out of date and does not reflect the final story experience, we urge fans not to read them if they want to experience the purest form of the story in Mass Effect 3.”

Bioware has gone to considerable lengths to safeguard the game's storyline - at a Mass Effect 3 preview event earlier in the year, we were prohibited from taking photos that might give away the plot. 

"If this is real then it's potentially the worst leak ever in gaming since the full beta version of HL2 [Half-Life 2] was leaked to the internet," remarked one gamer on the Gamespot forums.

We'd naturally advise against seeking out any plot spoilers - after playing through two games and spending countless hours with these characters, it would be silly to find out the ending on a random Internet forum. Patience is a virtue.