Key Notes
- More than 200,000 supporters want EA to continue Mass Effect with proper resources or license the franchise to another studio after BioWare’s closure.
- Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer have backed the fan effort, while Hale’s suggestion of combined fan and investor funding remains an exploratory idea.
- The petition does not specifically require BioWare to reopen, and support for it does not establish a funded revival or an agreement with EA.
More than 200,000 people have signed the Save Mass Effect petition, adding pressure on Electronic Arts to give the RPG series a future after BioWare’s closure and the cancellation of its next game. The campaign has attracted support from Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, the two voices of Commander Shepard.
The petition, organized by Joe Smith, asks EA to commit the staff, money and development time needed for another Mass Effect, or license the franchise to a different studio. Its central demand is that the series continue, rather than that BioWare must reopen in its previous form.
Meer has urged fans to sign and backed Hale’s idea of exploring a revival supported by fans, investors and a development studio. His public message accompanies a campaign whose signature total has grown rapidly since EA’s October 21 announcement.
I like it too.
Hold the line.#MassEffect #SaveMassEffect #N7 #MassEffectIsAlive #CommanderShepard https://t.co/uQJ4x5mXPS pic.twitter.com/vx22yejYbR
— Mark Meer (@Mark_Meer) October 24, 2026
Two Possible Routes for Mass Effect
The campaign’s first proposal would leave EA responsible for moving the franchise forward with adequate resources. Its alternative would let another developer work with the property under a licensing arrangement. Neither option is a deal that the petition’s organizers can make on EA’s behalf.
That makes the distinction between the studio and the series important. BioWare’s closure removes the team that was developing the next game, but the petition asks the rights holder to consider a new production arrangement rather than accept that outcome as the end of Mass Effect.
We reported on EA’s decision to close BioWare and cancel the next Mass Effect as part of a wider restructuring. The fan response does not reverse those decisions, but gives EA a visible measure of interest in a franchise whose future is now uncertain.
The campaign had already passed 187,000 signatures when Eurogamer reported on it on October 25. By October 26 it had crossed 200,000, a threshold that demonstrates growing support without establishing how many people would buy or help finance a future game.
Shepard’s Actors Back the Campaign
Hale, who voices the female version of Commander Shepard, has suggested a combination of a fan Kickstarter campaign, investment and studio participation as a possible way forward. Meer, the male Shepard actor, has endorsed exploring the idea and encouraged people to support the petition.
Their involvement matters to a series built around relationships with its characters. For players who followed Shepard across the original trilogy, the actors offer a direct connection to that experience, while their posts help bring the campaign beyond the petition page itself.
Hale’s suggestion remains an idea, rather than an announced crowdfunding project. It does not establish an agreement with EA, a licensed developer, committed investment or a production budget. A petition signature is also separate from a financial pledge.
A credible revival would need more than a demonstration of demand: a team would have to secure permission to use the franchise and agree on funding, scope and a development plan. The campaign is asking EA to open a path toward those decisions.
A Separate Push From the BioWare Buyout Proposal
The petition is not the only response to the closure. We also covered Canadian NDP leader Avi Lewis’s proposal for federal support to help BioWare employees buy and run the studio. That concerns the company and its workers; Save Mass Effect is focused on the continuation of the franchise.
We have separately examined analyst concerns about EA’s debt and the risk of further cuts. Those forecasts provide business context, but they do not prove that a sale or licensing arrangement for Mass Effect will happen.
For now, the concrete development is the scale of support and the participation of the series’ best-known performers. A funded revival, a new studio agreement or a change to EA’s plans would require a separate announcement.
