Mass Effect Campaign Hits 200K Signatures and a Times Square Billboard After EA Shutters BioWare

A petition past 200,000 signatures

The #SaveMassEffect Change.org petition had over 200k signatures at the time of writing, and it affects every fan waiting on the next game in the series ^[1]. A campaign to save the franchise was launched after EA shuttered BioWare ^[1].

Joe Smith says he created the petition ^[2]. It asks EA to commit to continued development of Mass Effect with proper funding, adequate staffing, and time allocation ^[1]. As an alternative, it asks EA to consider licensing the Mass Effect IP to another studio ^[1].

The Times Square billboard

The campaign also put an LED billboard in New York City's Times Square ^[1]. It sits above the Pelé store at 1560 Broadway ^[1]. The slogan, Keelah Si'yah #SaveMassEffect, plays for 15 seconds every hour at the :35 mark ^[1].

The fan page We Are Mass Effect, along with YouTuber Kala Elizabeth, got the billboard up ^[1]. Kala Elizabeth paid for it ^[2].

What happened at BioWare

BioWare's doors shuttered for good on October 21st as part of EA's restructuring efforts ^[3]. EA cut 400 people from its workforce the week before the article was written ^[2]. The sudden closure halted work on the next Mass Effect title ^[1].

The closure resulted in the cancellation of Mass Effect: Universe, the fifth game in the series, first announced in 2020 ^[2]. Michael Gamble, who had worked on the series since Mass Effect 2, led the Universe team up until its final days ^[2].

The leaked trailer

A leaked in-house trailer for the next Mass Effect game, which had the working title Mass Effect Universe, has circulated ^[1]. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier confirmed it as a real trailer of the now cancelled game ^[3].

How we got here

BioWare had taken almost a decade to release its next entry in the Mass Effect series ^[1]. The studio had also been gutted by its parent company multiple times ^[2]. Casey Hudson, the original creative director of the franchise, has not been at BioWare since 2020 ^[2].

What the organizers say

Restoring BioWare as an organization is outside the petition's scope, according to organizer Joe Smith ^[2]. Smith said every route for saving Mass Effect would require EA's agreement, financing, and a capable team, and that signatures are not a guarantee of a new game ^[2].

Smith said in an update that the petition's goal includes bringing back the talent who made the series special ^[2]. Kala Elizabeth said the movement has always been about supporting the developers and BioWare as a studio, and covers more than the Mass Effect IP ^[2]. Ariel Aguilar said the fans are deeply concerned about the developers who have lost their jobs ^[2].

Who owns the series

Former BioWare exec Mark Darrah said EA owns all the IPs, including Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Jade Empire ^[3]. He suggested EA might be more likely to sell off the IPs, since the studio is closed and nobody is working on the IP ^[3].

Some X/Twitter users have suggested that Xbox should reach out to EA and acquire or fund the next Mass Effect game ^[3].