After BioWare’s closure: around 200,000 fans sign petition to save Mass Effect
The petition urges EA to continue the series or license it to another studio. Both Commander Shepard actors are backing the fans.
Archive image · Photo: Richard Cabrera / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Just days after Electronic Arts closed BioWare, almost 200,000 people have signed a petition to save Mass Effect, GamesRadar+ reports. According to Umgamer, it is hosted on Change.org and passed 200,000 signatures over its first weekend. It calls on EA to commit to continued development of the series with proper funding, staffing and time – or to license the franchise to another studio if EA will not fund a new game itself.
Both voices of Commander Shepard are backing the campaign. Mark Meer urged fans in a video to sign the petition. During an Instagram Live with Jennifer Hale on 21 October, he called the closure “a massive loss for Edmonton, for Canada, and for the video game industry in general”, PC Gamer reports. Hale said the studio “was in the hands of ownership that may not have understood what BioWare fully is” and floated a fan-funded Kickstarter.
EA announced on 21 October that it was closing the Edmonton studio and cancelling the next Mass Effect. The company has not responded publicly to the petition. Meer pointed out that the series turns 20 next year.