Update:

BioWare has now provided details and our first look at the upcoming Earth downloadable content. The multiplayer add-on will be available on July 17th on Xbox Live, Origin and PlayStation Network in North America. Europe will have the same dates for Origin and Xbox Live, but will be able to download the content on PSN a day later, on July 18th.

Three new maps - Firebase Rio, Firebase Vancouver and Firebase London

- Firebase Rio, Firebase Vancouver and Firebase London Six new characters - N7 Demolisher Engineer, N7 Destroyer Soldier, N7 Fury Adept, N7 Sentinel Paladin, N7 Shadow Infiltrator and N7 Slayer Vanguard

- N7 Demolisher Engineer, N7 Destroyer Soldier, N7 Fury Adept, N7 Sentinel Paladin, N7 Shadow Infiltrator and N7 Slayer Vanguard Three new weapons - N7 Piranha Shotgun, N7 Typhoon Assault Rifle and Acolyte Pistol

- N7 Piranha Shotgun, N7 Typhoon Assault Rifle and Acolyte Pistol New upgrades - 12 new weapon modifications and 11 unique upgrades

- 12 new weapon modifications and 11 unique upgrades New "Platinum" Difficulty

New In-Mission Objective - On waves 3, 6 and 10, players may randomly be tasked with protecting a targeted agent and escorting them to an extraction zone on the map

The Earth content includes:Original story follows:

see deal Mass Effect 3 - PlayStation 3 $19.99 on Gamestop

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New multiplayer content for Mass Effect 3 Major Nelson , the content will take place on Earth and will be available for free on July 17th.On top of that, BioWare’s Chris Priestly notes on Twitter that beginning today, all Mass Effect 3 Spectre Packs have a chance of containing an ultra-rare Prothean Particle Rifle, as seen below:For now, the Earth content has only been confirmed for Xbox 360, but we’ve reached out to BioWare for additional details and to find out if it will hit PlayStation 3 and PC as well. Previous content packs including the Resurgence Pack and Rebellion Pack were available for all platforms and included new weapons, maps, consumables and characters.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN