doswillrule wrote...
it just seems like they'd be pandering to the mass market to try and get some extra cash.
This is exactly what I think they're doing. And form a marketing point of view it would make sense to release a spinoff game now, instead of later since a lot of people will drop the entire franchise the second they finish ME3. There have also been quite a few wishes about a multiplayer "war-game" set in the ME universe from the public, so I wouldn't be surprised if they abide by the masses wishes.
But let's stop speculating. Here's a related comic instead:
Do we really want sad trees?
Do we?