Save Mass Effect petition passes 75,000 signatures as fans call for an EA boycott

A petition to save Mass Effect has passed 75,000 signatures just days after EA closed BioWare and cancelled the studio's next game in the series. Some fans are now calling for a boycott of EA products and services, and the voice of Commander Shepard has joined the push. Whether any of it moves EA is another question.

A petition that keeps growing

EA shut BioWare down on Wednesday, cancelling the upcoming Mass Effect game as it did so, IGN reports. Once a trailer for the project, now known as Mass Effect Universe, leaked online, fans flocked to a petition. IGN counted 50,000 signatures that afternoon, and a later IGN report put it above 75,000, alongside calls for a boycott of all EA products and services.

According to GameSpot, the "Save Mass Effect" Change.org petition was launched this week and urges EA to commit to the continued development of Mass Effect.

Voice actors and politicians join in

Jennifer Hale, who voiced the female Commander Shepard in the first three games, reacted to the leaked footage. GameSpot says she called it "extraordinary" and added that she is "holding hope for magic to happen." Polygon reports that Hale and Mark Meer have both joined fans in calling for action.

The politics have reached Canada, too. Avi Lewis, who leads one of the country's top opposition parties, wants the Canadian government to help BioWare staff buy the studio from EA and run it themselves, according to IGN. Rock Paper Shotgun quotes his view that staff "should be given the first opportunity and the federal support" to do it, and calls the idea unlikely to happen.

Others want a different rescuer. Pure Xbox reports that people online are urging Xbox to step in, quoting one call to "Buy the Mass Effect IP, Hire the Best of BioWare and reform it."

What analysts expect

Analysts are not hopeful. They told IGN that Mass Effect is now a "prestige project" for EA, that the closure was "entirely predictable," and that it is unlikely the franchise or BioWare's other IPs will be sold off.

GameSpot adds that analyst Joost Van Dreunen told IGN EA needed drastic cuts to service $18 billion in debt tied to the leveraged structure of its sale to Saudi Arabia's PIF.

Mass Effect items pulled from Battlefield 6

The fallout has already reached another EA game. Eurogamer says upcoming Mass Effect crossover items appear to have been removed from Battlefield 6. GameSpot reports that fans had found Mass Effect weapon charms and patches in the game's files, with many guessing they would arrive in November around Mass Effect's N7 Day on November 7. IGN says EA appears to have quietly pulled the content. The coverage describes the removal as apparent or reported rather than confirmed.

What to watch

The petition's growth shows how much interest the series still has, but the analysts IGN spoke to don't expect the franchise to change hands.