--- title: "Mass Effect Campaign Hits 200K Signatures and a Times Square Billboard After EA Shutters BioWare" description: "Fans have put a petition, a billboard and a trailer leak behind the push to keep Mass Effect alive after BioWare's closure." url: https://gaming.skoop.news/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-gets-nyc-billboard-7a50fe/ published: 2026-10-27T07:30:32.318250-04:00 modified: 2026-10-27T07:30:32.318268-04:00 section: "Gaming & Streamers" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["Mass Effect", "Mass Effect IP", "Joe Smith", "Kala Elizabeth", "Times Square", "We Are Mass Effect", "IPs", "Broadway", "LED"] hashtags: ["#MassEffect", "#MassEffectIP", "#JoeSmith", "#gaming", "#gamingclips"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Avina%2C_Mass_Effect%2C_Second_Life.png/1280px-Avina%2C_Mass_Effect%2C_Second_Life.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # Mass Effect Campaign Hits 200K Signatures and a Times Square Billboard After EA Shutters BioWare > Fans have put a petition, a billboard and a trailer leak behind the push to keep Mass Effect alive after BioWare's closure. Published 2026-10-27 · Updated 2026-10-27 · Gaming & Streamers, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - 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]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). - The campaign also put an LED billboard in New York City's Times Square [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). - BioWare's doors shuttered for good on October 21st as part of EA's restructuring efforts [[3]](https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/10/the-internet-urges-xbox-to-save-mass-effect). ## 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]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). A campaign to save the franchise was launched after EA shuttered BioWare [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). Joe Smith says he created the petition [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). It asks EA to commit to continued development of Mass Effect with proper funding, adequate staffing, and time allocation [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). As an alternative, it asks EA to consider licensing the Mass Effect IP to another studio [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). ## The Times Square billboard The campaign also put an LED billboard in New York City's Times Square [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). It sits above the Pelé store at 1560 Broadway [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). The slogan, Keelah Si'yah #SaveMassEffect, plays for 15 seconds every hour at the :35 mark [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). The fan page We Are Mass Effect, along with YouTuber Kala Elizabeth, got the billboard up [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). Kala Elizabeth paid for it [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). ## What happened at BioWare BioWare's doors shuttered for good on October 21st as part of EA's restructuring efforts [[3]](https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/10/the-internet-urges-xbox-to-save-mass-effect). EA cut 400 people from its workforce the week before the article was written [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). The sudden closure halted work on the next Mass Effect title [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). The closure resulted in the cancellation of Mass Effect: Universe, the fifth game in the series, first announced in 2020 [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). Michael Gamble, who had worked on the series since Mass Effect 2, led the Universe team up until its final days [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). ## 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]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). Bloomberg's Jason Schreier confirmed it as a real trailer of the now cancelled game [[3]](https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/10/the-internet-urges-xbox-to-save-mass-effect). ## How we got here BioWare had taken almost a decade to release its next entry in the Mass Effect series [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). The studio had also been gutted by its parent company multiple times [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). Casey Hudson, the original creative director of the franchise, has not been at BioWare since 2020 [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). ## What the organizers say Restoring BioWare as an organization is outside the petition's scope, according to organizer Joe Smith [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). 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]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). Smith said in an update that the petition's goal includes bringing back the talent who made the series special [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). 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]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). Ariel Aguilar said the fans are deeply concerned about the developers who have lost their jobs [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). ## Who owns the series Former BioWare exec Mark Darrah said EA owns all the IPs, including Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Jade Empire [[3]](https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/10/the-internet-urges-xbox-to-save-mass-effect). 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]](https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/10/the-internet-urges-xbox-to-save-mass-effect). Some X/Twitter users have suggested that Xbox should reach out to EA and acquire or fund the next Mass Effect game [[3]](https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/10/the-internet-urges-xbox-to-save-mass-effect). ## What it means for you If you want to back the effort, the #SaveMassEffect petition on Change.org is the campaign's main tool, and it asks EA for continued development with proper funding, adequate staffing, and time allocation [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). If you are in Times Square, the billboard plays at the :35 mark every hour for 15 seconds [[1]](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html). Keep Smith's caveat in mind: signatures are not a guarantee of a new game, and every route would require EA's agreement, financing, and a capable team [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). The petition does not aim to restore BioWare as an organization [[2]](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836). ## Sources 1. [Save MASS EFFECT Fan Campaign Gets NYC Billboard](https://tech.yahoo.com/gaming/articles/save-mass-effect-fan-campaign-223835563.html) — YAHOO! 2. [What Does It Even Mean To ‘Save’ Mass Effect?](https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-5-universe-save-petition-bioware-signatures-shutdown-cancelled-2000749836) — Kotaku 3. [The Internet Urges Xbox To Save Mass Effect](https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/10/the-internet-urges-xbox-to-save-mass-effect) — Pure Xbox Image: Photo: Jin Zan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avina,_Mass_Effect,_Second_Life.png) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. How we work: https://skoop.news/how-we-work/ · Corrections: https://skoop.news/corrections/