EA Cancelled Mass Effect, Fans Responded With Over 150,000 Signatures

#SaveMassEffect: Fans Demand Action to Preserve BioWare’s Iconic Franchise After EA Closure

On October 21, 2026, Electronic Arts announced the permanent closure of BioWare’s Edmonton studio, ending a 31-year run that produced Baldur’s Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and the landmark Mass Effect trilogy, along with the cancellation of early development on the next Mass Effect project.

The move, part of roughly 400 layoffs company-wide, followed EA’s $55 billion leveraged buyout by a consortium including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners.

Within hours, fans launched the #SaveMassEffect petition on Change.org. By October 25, it had surpassed 164,000 verified signatures, with tens of thousands added in single days.

The petition, started by Joe Smith the same day as the announcement, does not call for BioWare to be reopened under its previous structure. Instead, it presents two clear demands to EA:

• First, commit to continued development of Mass Effect with "proper funding, adequate staffing, and time allocation to maintain and advance the high standards the franchise is known for".

• Second, if EA prefers not to pursue the franchise internally, license the intellectual property to another studio that shares "the passion and vision to keep it alive and allow it to flourish anew."

These requests stem from the fear that the series will simply stop. The petition text notes that “the decline in dedicated resources and ambiguous development plans from Electronic Arts (EA) threaten to leave this beloved series at a standstill, jeopardizing its incredible legacy.”

Players have spent thousands of hours exploring the galaxy as Commander Shepard, building relationships with companions such as Liara, Garrus, and Tali, and living with the consequences of their choices. The franchise’s blend of character-driven storytelling, moral complexity, and expansive world-building created a community that values agency and shared adventure. Ending new mainline entries, the organizers argue, would not only disappoint existing fans but also reduce the diversity of narrative-focused games more broadly.

The emotional weight of the cancellation was heightened by the circulation of a purported pre-production trailer (titled “Mass Effect Universe”) that suggested the project had progressed further than many expected. While its authenticity has not been fully verified, the footage intensified the sense of loss.

Canadian NDP leader Avi Lewis publicly suggested that the federal government could support former BioWare employees in purchasing and independently operating the studio, framing the closure as a predictable outcome of private-equity ownership focused on short-term returns.

Analysts have described the decision as commercially unsurprising given the debt load from the buyout and BioWare’s uneven commercial performance in recent years, yet the speed and scale of the fan response underline how deeply the series is embedded in gaming culture.