Mass Effect 3 needs to cook for a bit longer, says BioWare.

One of the holiday season's heavy hitters has bowed out of its expected fourth-quarter release. Today, via Facebook, BioWare announced that Mass Effect 3 will now arrive on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 during the first three months of 2012. The new date puts it in the similar launch window of Mass Effect 2, which launched in January 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PC and January 2011 for the PS3.

Mass Effect 3 needs to cook for a bit longer, says BioWare.

"The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest, and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone's expectations," Mass Effect series executive producer Casey Hudson said in a statement.

Read more of "Mass Effect 3 delayed to Q1 2012" on GameSpot.