More than 200,000 people have signed a petition calling on Electronic Arts to revive the Mass Effect franchise after the publisher announced plans to close BioWare, the studio that created the series.
Petition urges EA to continue or license the series
The Change.org campaign, titled #SaveMassEffect, had attracted more than 207,000 signatures as of Sunday, urging EA to either fund a future Mass Effect project itself or license the franchise to another developer. The petition frames both options as ways to “keep the spirit of exploration alive,” and asks fans to press EA to reconsider the franchise's future.
- Studio closure: EA announced on Oct. 21 that it would shut down BioWare as part of a restructuring that affected roughly 400 positions.
- Project cancelled: EA confirmed the next Mass Effect — often referred to in reporting as Mass Effect 5 — was cancelled when the studio closure was announced.
- High-profile support: Voice actors Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, known for voicing Commander Shepard in the original Mass Effect trilogy, publicly encouraged fans to back the petition.
The campaign proposes two routes for the franchise: continued internal investment by EA or a licensing arrangement that would allow another studio to carry the series forward. The petition’s organizer presents both as viable paths to preserve the franchise’s creative and technical standards.
“You know what I like to think about? I like to think about a world where the fans come together to create a Kickstarter, and then a couple of investors join them, and then a really cool game company joins them,” Jennifer Hale wrote on social media. “Then a collective is formed to bring Mass Effect back to life for the community, for the creatives, for all of us, and it’s amazing. That’s what I like to think about.”
Mark Meer, who voiced the male Commander Shepard, also drew attention to the campaign on social media, urging fans to “Hold the line” and sign the petition.
Context and recent developments
EA announced the studio closure on Oct. 21 as part of a broader restructuring that the company said would concentrate resources on a smaller number of larger-scale projects. That announcement included the cancellation of the Mass Effect title that had been in development at BioWare. The company has not announced any plans to transfer the franchise to another developer or to resume development under a new internal team.
In the days following the closure, a purported trailer for the cancelled Mass Effect project surfaced online; the material circulated among fans but has not been confirmed by EA. The petition and the public comments from franchise voice actors reflect a surge of community activity seeking an alternative path for the series.
EA provided the initial notice of the BioWare shutdown and the project cancellation in its internal and external communications on Oct. 21. The petition remains an independent, fan-driven effort to influence the publisher’s decisions about the franchise’s future.
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| BioWare closure announced | Oct. 21 |
| Approximate job impact cited | About 400 positions |
| Petition signatures (Dexerto report) | More than 207,000 |
The campaign’s organizers and the actors supporting it have asked fans to sign and share the petition. EA has not made a public commitment to restart the cancelled Mass Effect project or to license the franchise to another developer.
